Frequency and severity of vasomotor symptoms among peri- and postmenopausal women in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To describe characteristics of vasomotor symptoms, specifically daily frequency and severity, among women 40-65 years old in the United States (US). DESIGN: A survey was completed by a nationally representative sample of 4402 US women aged 40-65 years old. A questionnaire focusing on menopausal symptoms was administered online in April 2005. RESULTS: The prevalence of vasomotor symptoms was 79% in peri- and 65% in postmenopausal women. Women with daily vasomotor symptoms had an average of 2.5 very mild/mild, 2.6 moderate, 2.5 severe, and 1.4 very severe daytime hot flushes in a typical day. Women with night sweats every night had an average of 2.4 moderate, 3.2 severe, and 2.7 very severe night sweats in a typical night. Overall, 9% of peri- and 7% of postmenopausal women reported 7+ moderate to very severe vasomotor symptoms in a typical day. Although some women reported that symptoms were worse in the evening and in the summer, many women reported they were consistent, both throughout the day and throughout the seasons of the year. CONCLUSIONS: The Menopause Epidemiology Study builds upon existing literature by providing data on daily frequency and severity of vasomotor symptoms. There are many women with frequent and severe vasomotor symptoms who may benefit from treatment.

Isolation and characterization of fission yeast sns mutants defective at the mitosis-to-interphase transition.

pim1-d1ts was previously identified in a visual screen for fission yeast mutants unable to complete the mitosis-to-interphase transition. pim1+ encodes the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the spi1 GTPase. Perturbations of this GTPase system by either mutation or overproduction of its regulatory proteins cause cells to arrest with postmitotic condensed chromosomes, an unreplicated genome, and a wide medial septum. The septation phenotype of pim1-d1ts was used as the basis for a more extensive screen for this novel class of sns (septated, not in S-phase) mutants. Seventeen mutants representing 14 complementation groups were isolated. Three strains, sns-A3, sns-A5, and sns-A6, representing two different alleles, are mutated in the pim1+ gene. Of the 13 non-pim1ts sns complementation groups, 11 showed genetic interactions with the spi1 GTPase system. The genes mutated in 10 sns strains were synthetically lethal with pim1-d1, and six sns strains were hypersensitive to overexpression of one or more of the known components of the spil GTPase system. Epistasis analysis places the action of the genes mutated in nine of these strains downstream of pim1+ and the action of one gene upstream of pim1+. Three strains, sns-A2, sns-B1, and sns-B9, showed genetic interaction with the spil GTPase system in every test performed. sns-B1 and sns-B9 are likely to identify downstream targets, whereas sns-A2 is likely to identify upstream regulators of the spi1 GTPase system that are required for the mitosis-to-interphase transition.

Effects of breed and wintering diet on heifer postweaning growth and development.

Fifteen spring-born Angus (AN) and 25 Brangus (BN) weanling heifers were used in a 2x5 factorial arrangement of treatments to evaluate the effects of breed and postweaning winter diet on heifer growth and development. Dietary treatments were warm-season perennial grass hay (H), ammoniated H (AH), H plus .68 kg/d cottonseed meal (HP), H plus .45 kg/d cottonseed meal plus 1.37 kg/d ground corn (HPE) and HPE plus 200 mg/d monensin (HPEM). Mean initial weight and age for the 107-d feed trial were 207 kg and 270 d. Brangus had .06 kg greater (P less than .05) ADG than AN during the trial. Although digestible DM intake (DDMI) relative to body weight was greater (P less than .10) for AN than for BN, ADG:DDMI was greater (P less than .05) for BN than for AN. Heifers fed H and AH lost weight, but heifers fed AH had 50% (P less than .05) less daily weight loss than those fed H. Daily gain increased (P less than .05) incrementally in response to sequential supplement additions of cottonseed meal (AH vs HP; -.10 vs .17 kg), ground corn (HP vs HPE; .17 vs .29 kg) and monensin (HPE vs HPEM; .29 vs .39 kg). Hay DM intake relative to body weight and DDMI were increased (P less than .01) by ammoniation. Intake did not differ between HPE and HPEM. Diet affected age at puberty (P less than .05), which decreased with increased dietary components. Weight differences among diet groups following the winter feed trial were largely eliminated prior to breeding. Nevertheless, H- and AH-fed heifers collectively weighed less (P less than .01) prior to breeding than did heifers of supplemented diet groups. Reproductive development tended to be adversely affected by weight loss during the postweaning period.

Effects of breed and wintering diet on growth, puberty and plasma concentrations of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 in heifers.

Twenty-five Brangus (BR) and 15 Angus (AN) heifers were used to study the effects of breed and wintering diet on average daily gain (ADG), onset of puberty and plasma concentrations of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Wintering diets (fed for 107 days beginning November 15) consisted of the following: 1) native grass hay (NGH), 2) ammoniated NGH, 3) NGH plus cottonseed meal, 4) Diet 3 plus corn and 5) Diet 4 plus monensin. After wintering, heifers were transferred to ryegrass pasture for 70 days. Mean ADG during the wintering phase were -.20, -.10, .17, .29 and .39 kg for heifers fed Diets 1 through 5, respectively (P less than .01). ADG was greater (P less than .05) for BR than for AN heifers. Plasma concentrations of GH were higher (P less than .05) in heifers fed Diets 1 and 2 than in heifers fed Diets 3, 4 or 5. Plasma concentrations of IGF-1 were lowest in heifers fed Diet 1 and highest in heifers fed Diets 4 and 5. During ryegrass grazing, GH concentrations were similar for all groups. However, concentrations of IGF-1 were higher (P less than .05) in heifers fed Diets 3, 4 and 5 than in heifers fed Diets 1 and 2. Age at puberty (onset of cyclic progesterone concentrations) was greatest in heifers fed Diet 1 and lowest in heifers fed Diet 5. Weight at puberty was not affected (P greater than .10) by wintering diet but was greater (P less than .01) in BR than in AN heifers. Therefore, negative ADG appears to be associated with elevated plasma GH concentrations in heifers, and plasma IGF-1 concentration appears to be a more accurate indication of nutritional status than plasma concentrations of GH.