RESUMO
Introduction The integration of family and career poses a significant problem for women in the medical profession. Balancing residency program demands with burgeoning family issues has always been a dilemma for female medicos. Lack of support and sometimes hostility from life partners, program administrators, teachers, and other residents have been reported. The present study is an attempt to assess perceptions and experiences of female medicos regarding pregnancy during residency. Methods The present descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a government medical college and hospital, which is a tertiary care center as well as a public sector teaching and training institute located in central India. Data were collected by interview technique using a predesigned and pretested questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the statistical software Epi Info version 7.2.5 (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia). Mean and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables and the chi-square test was applied for categorical variables. Results Of the 612 study subjects, 409 (66.8%) belonged to the clinical disciplines and 203 (33.2%) were from nonclinical and paraclinical disciplines. A total of 66 (32.5%) subjects from the paraclinical and nonclinical sides had experienced pregnancy during residency, whereas only 54 (13.2%) from the clinical side were pregnant during residency. Positive influences for pregnancy during residency were concerns about age and fertility, pressure from in-laws and parents, desire for family and pregnancy, etc., all with a mean score of 3.5 and above on a five-point Likert scale. Tight schedules, availability of childcare arrangements, support from faculty and other residents, etc. were relatively negative influences with a mean score of less than 3.5. Around 66% of those from nonclinical and paraclinical groups had conceived before 26 years of their age, whereas only 30% of residents from clinical departments had experienced pregnancy before that age. Thus, the age at conception was relatively lower in residents from nonclinical and paraclinical disciplines as compared to their counterparts from clinical disciplines, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.001). The complications during pregnancy were more in clinical residents than in those from the nonclinical and paraclinical side. Conclusions This study concludes that concerns about age and fertility, pressure from in-laws and parents, desire for family and pregnancy, and enjoying children are relatively positive influences on the occurrence of pregnancy, whereas tight schedule, availability of childcare arrangements, support from faculty and other residents, and timing professionally are relatively negative influences.
RESUMO
The novel gene ashwin was isolated in a differential display screen for genes activated or up-regulated early in neural specification. ashwin is expressed maternally and zygotically, and it is up-regulated in the neural ectoderm after the midgastrula stage. It is expressed in the neural plate and later in the embryonic brain, eyes, and spinal cord. Overexpression of ashwin in whole embryos leads to anterior truncations and other defects. However, a second Organizer does not form, and the secondary axial structures may result from splitting of the Organizer, rather than axis duplication. Morpholino oligonucleotide-mediated reduction in ashwin expression leads to lethality or abnormalities in gastrulation, as well as significant apoptosis in midgastrula embryos. Apoptosis is also observed in midgastrula embryos overexpressing ashwin. Coexpression of ashwin with the bone morphogenetic protein-4 antagonist noggin has a synergistic effect on neural-specific gene expression in isolated animal cap ectoderm. Ashwin has no previously characterized domains, although two nuclear localization signals can be identified. Orthologues have been identified in the human, mouse, chicken, and pufferfish genomes. Our results suggest that ashwin regulates cell survival and anteroposterior patterning.
