The U.S. population aged 65 and older, grew steadily through most of the last century. U.S. Census Bureau population projections to 2030 indicate that further and more dramatic growth is still to come. This increase is, in part, due to longer life expectancies and the ageing of the baby boom generation. This book explores the older population as it increases in size and proportion, and as individuals continue to live longer post-retirement. Topics discussed include the changes in where older Americans live, or the "geographic distribution" of the older population; older workers employment and retirement trends; income of Americans 65 or older; poverty among older Americans; and obesity among older Americans.

The idea of assessment in the fields of physical exercise and health refers to a process of attributing values or concepts. This attribution is certainly key for the prescription of physical exercise but it is not its most important role. This book presents and discusses research which shows physical exercise and health professionals the importance of a program of measurement and assessment which enables to safely prescribe physical exercise to elderly people, since this prescription must be supported by a scientific basis in order to be considered a credible and responsible piece of work.

A few gray hairs and a couple of wrinkles are often the first visible signs of aging on our bodies. For most of us, however, aging remains largely a mystery. We can only wonder why we have to age and what casualty of age hovers nearby. Written in everyday language, The Clock of Ages takes us on a tour of the aging human body--all from a research scientist's point of view. From the deliberate creation of organisms that live three times their natural span to the isolation of genes that may allow humans to do the same, The Clock of Ages also examines the latest discoveries in geriatric genetics. Sprinkled throughout the pages are descriptions of the aging of many historical figures, such as Florence Nightingale, Jane Austen, Billy the Kid, Napoleon, and Casanova. These stories underscore the common bond of senescence that unites us all. The Clock of Ages tells us why.

This book represents an attempt to review the most recent knowledge concerning basic processes occurring in the most important female reproductive organ -- ovary and their regulators. The most important processes (ovarian cyclic changes and oogenesis), as well as their extracellular (hormones and growth factors) and intracellular (protein kinases, transcription factors, small RNAs) regulators are described. Data concerning processes or substances well described in previous reviews are summarised here in a short form with references to corresponding reviews.

For some elderly people, the body weakens while the mind stays alert. Others remain physically strong, and cognitive losses take a huge toll. But for everyone, death is inevitable, and each loss is personally felt by those close to the one who has died. End-of-life care is the term used to describe the support and medical care given during the time surrounding death. An older person is often living, and dying, with one or more chronic illnesses and needs a lot of care for days, weeks, and sometimes even months. This book explores helping with comfort and care at the end-of-life and hopes to make the unfamiliar territory of death slightly more comfortable for everyone involved. Discussions on hospice, end-of-life services, costs, ethics, and quality of care are contained herein.

This book reviews research on presently known theories and mechanisms responsible for the rate of ageing and maximum longevity of different animals including birds, mammals and humans (to explain "how" do we age and the velocity of the ageing process). In addition, this book deals with the historical evolutionary explanations of ageing and longevity ("why" do we age). The mechanisms discussed include mitochondria and oxygen free radicals, the presence of macromolecules constitutively highly resistant to deleterious modification in the tissues of long-lived animals, insulin/IGF-1 like signalling, telomere shortening, dietary restrictions, and other proposed molecular mechanisms.

Spermatozoa is the basic human male germ cell. This gametocyte plays an important role in fertilisation. In the past five years, new improvements in diagnosis have allowed us to assess male fertility potential with a new perspective studying with demonstrated role in sperm physiology. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that infertile men have high levels of sperm DNA damages and a small percentage of spermatozoa from fertile men also possess detectable levels of DNA damage. This book examines several of the factors that may be involved in sperm chromatin and DNA anomalies, including intra and extra testicular factors. Furthermore, sperm capacitation is a complex physiological process that involves biochemical, biophysical, molecular and metabolic modifications of all sperm domains. Some important events related to the capacitation process of sperm is examined as well. The biological role of the proteasome during sperm capacitation and the acrosome reaction and its relationship with protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation during these processes is explored as well. Other chapters in this book highlight the pivotal role of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis in the diagnosis of human sperm pathologies, the barrier methods currently available to men for regulating their fertility, a discussion of the current understanding of gene transfer to the testis, a new perspectives for the study of mycoplasmal and chlamydial infections of human spermatozoa and a discussion of the present current knowledge on the mechanisms, molecules and cell signalling involved in sperm activating ability.

The early environment in which we grow up has profound, long lasting, and often irreversible consequences for us throughout our lives. Stresses due to undernutrition in early childhood can mean that in adulthood individuals are smaller, more prone to disease, and have a shorter life expectancy than those with normal diets. Disease and poor living conditions in infancy and childhood also have serious implications in adulthood. While environmental effects on human growth and development are well documented, the long term consequences due to processes taking place at the early stages of growth and development have only recently become a focus of intense study. In this volume, leading researchers in nutrition, epidemiology, human biology, anthropology and physiology bring together a uniquely accessible source of information on this fascinating topic.

This volume, and its companion volume on the oocyte, provide an authoritative and wide-ranging account of the gametes, and their reproductive role and function in humans. Acknowledged authorities from around the world provide a detailed and timely account of the spermatozoon. The volume starts with an evolutionary perspective before focusing on the molecular and cellular biology of the sperm cell, and its structure and function. The development and maturation of sperm are described, as is their movement and transport in the male and female genital tract. Practical issues such as sperm storage and assisted contraception are fully covered. The causes of male infertility are also an important theme. The volume concludes with a thought-provoking chapter on ethical considerations. The volume will be an essential source of information for all clinicians and scientists with an interest in human reproduction.

Since 1975, the Oklahoma Notes have been among the most widely used reviews for medical students preparing for Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. OKN: Anatomy takes a unified approach to the subject, covering Embryology, Neuroanatomy, Histology, and Gross Anatomy. Like other Oklahoma Notes, Anatomy contains self-assessment questions, geared to the current USMLE format; tables and figures to promote rapid self-assessment and review; a low price; and coverage of just the information needed to ensure Boards success.

This volume, and its companion volume on the spermatozoon, provide an authoritative and wide ranging account of the gametes and their reproductive role and function in humans. Acknowledged authorities from around the world contribute a detailed and timely account of the oocyte. The volume starts with an evolutionary perspective before focusing on the molecular and cellular biology of the oocyte and its structure and function. The development and maturation of the oocyte is fully dealt with to include the endocrine and paracrine regulation of ovarian function. Practical issues such as oocyte storage and ovarian stimulation are also fully covered. The causes of female infertility are also an important theme. The volume concludes with a thought provoking chapter on ethical considerations. The volume will be an essential source of information for all clinicians and scientists with an interest in human reproduction.

Reproduction plays a huge part in many people's lives, but often little is understood about the biological processes involved and the larger impact of reproductive choices. This book offers an accessible, comprehensive introduction to this fascinating subject. Irina Pollard takes a unique, interdisciplinary perspective, describing in detail the biology of human reproduction, but also covering in depth the impact of procreational behavior on human social structures, the environment, and health. This compelling and authoritative account is the first to draw together in a single volume these two disparate yet intimately connected strands of the story of human reproduction. The book covers fertility and infertility, sexual behavior and pheromones, sperm creation, maternal physiology during pregnancy, fetal development, the biology of breast feeding, and the impact of parental behavior on the physiology of the newborn, as well as population dynamics, artificial control of fertility, the AIDS epidemic, the effects of nutrition and exercise on reproductive behavior, and the causes of birth defects, including abuse of substances such as nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine. This book is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate students studying biology, medicine, anthropology, human ecology, population dynamics, and public health. It is also an engrossing and enlightening source of information for a wide range of general readers including prospective parents, pregnant mothers, teenagers, and anyone wishing a concise, up-to-date review of human reproductive biology.

Infertility is a major increasing concern. As the male factor contributes to about half of the infertility cases, sperm analysis is extremely important for diagnosis and investigation of infertility. In this book, the cytometric techniques used to evaluate sperm DNA/chromatin integrity together with some other functional properties of the male gamete are described and advantages and limitations are discussed. In addition, the authors provide an overview of how antioxidative and redox systems participate in spermatogenesis and in pathological conditions, such as heat stress, in the testes. Oxidative stress-induced damage to both oocytes in vivo and embryos in culture are also examined, as well as the role of ROS signalling in embryo development. Furthermore, endometriosis is an oestrogen-dependent disease which affects 6% to 30% of women in reproductive age and is associated with infertility in approximately 60% of cases. In this book, classic and recently proposed etiopathogenic mechanisms or endometriosis-related infertility are discussed, as well as some aspects of its clinical investigation and medical treatment. Other chapters in this book assess the capability of combining of Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and embryo quality as predictors of pregnancy outcome and an examination of how the use of animal models can help us to understand the female reproductive system and the aetiology of some female infertile disorders.

Reproduction plays a huge part in many people's lives, but often little is understood about the biological processes involved and the larger impact of reproductive choices. This book offers an accessible, comprehensive introduction to this fascinating subject. Irina Pollard takes a unique, interdisciplinary perspective, describing in detail the biology of human reproduction, but also covering in depth the impact of procreational behavior on human social structures, the environment, and health. This compelling and authoritative account is the first to draw together in a single volume these two disparate yet intimately connected strands of the story of human reproduction. The book covers fertility and infertility, sexual behavior and pheromones, sperm creation, maternal physiology during pregnancy, fetal development, the biology of breast feeding, and the impact of parental behavior on the physiology of the newborn, as well as population dynamics, artificial control of fertility, the AIDS epidemic, the effects of nutrition and exercise on reproductive behavior, and the causes of birth defects, including abuse of substances such as nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine. This book is an ideal text for undergraduate and graduate students studying biology, medicine, anthropology, human ecology, population dynamics, and public health. It is also an engrossing and enlightening source of information for a wide range of general readers including prospective parents, pregnant mothers, teenagers, and anyone wishing a concise, up-to-date review of human reproductive biology.

This concise 1993 volume proposes a standardized approach to the investigation of infertility. The volume provides clear guidelines and a logical sequence of steps which will quickly lead the clinician or physician to an accurate diagnosis of the underlying cause of infertility. This standardized approach to the management of infertility will lead to more efficient, systematic and economic care for the infertile couple. The diagnostic charts, which may be photocopied, provide an unambiguous route to diagnosis of the underlying cause of infertility, whilst the text fully explains and describes the essential clinical tests. The volume summarizes the results gained from the study of more than 10,000 infertile couples, who were investigated as part of the WHO's programme to counter the widespread personal distress caused by infertility. It is hoped that the standardized approach presented here will go some way towards countering this major problem.

Flourishing in Emerging Adulthood highlights the third decade of life as a time in which individuals have diverse opportunities for positive development. There is mounting evidence that this time period, at least for a significant majority, is a unique developmental period in which positive development is fostered. Dr. Lene Arnett Jensen highlights the importance of this work in an engaging foreword, and chapters are written by leading scholars in diverse disciplines who address various aspects of flourishing. They discuss multiple aspects of positive development including how young people flourish in key areas of emerging adulthood (e.g., identity, love, work, worldviews), the various unique opportunities afforded to young people to flourish, how flourishing might look different around the world, and how flourishing can occur in the face of challenge. Most chapters are accompanied by first-person essays written by a range of emerging adults who exemplify the aspect of flourishing denoted in that chapter and make note of how choices and experiences have helped them transition to adulthood. Taken together, this innovative collection provides rich evidence and examples of how young people are flourishing as a group and as individuals in a variety of settings and circumstances. This unique resource will be useful to students, faculty, professionals, clinicians, and university personnel who work with young adults or who study development during emerging adulthood.

A Practical Guide to Clinical Supervision in Genetic Counseling provides a comprehensive overview of clinical supervision, emphasizing the supervision of genetic counseling students. The book draws on theory and research in genetic counseling, psychology, counselor education, and Dr. Veach's many years of experience in supervision practice. Chapters address key issues in clinical supervision, including the infrastructure required for effective supervision; relationship dynamics inherent in supervision; and critical supervision processes, such as goal setting, feedback, evaluation, culturally-responsive supervision, and common clinical supervision challenges. Additional chapters cover models of supervisor and supervisee development, strategies to promote student wellness, how to recognize and address problematic performance, and supervision delivery models. Each chapter contains instructional objectives, illustrations of major topics with supervision vignettes and examples, and descriptions of specific strategies for promoting self-reflective supervision practice. Experiential activities at the end of each chapter provide opportunities for readers to strengthen and maintain competencies associated with effective supervision processes and outcomes. The activities are appropriate for both current and future supervisors at all levels of experience and are suitable for use in the classroom and by individuals engaged in self-study. A Practical Guide to Clinical Supervision in Genetic Counseling also features three contributed chapters by experts in supervision, education, and research and an appendix with instructional tips for designing and conducting supervision training opportunities to facilitate participants' learning experiences.

Fertility is the natural capability of giving life. As a measure, the "Fertility Rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. This is different to fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction (influenced by gamete production, fertilisation and carrying a pregnancy to term). Human fertility depends on factors of nutrition, sexual behaviour, culture, instinct, endocrinology, timing, economics, way of life, and emotions. Animal fertility has no fewer complexities, and may display many interesting mechanisms. This book presents the latest research from around the world in this field.

Sexual problems are approached from a psychological and educational perspective with stress placed on the importance of the enhancement of individual relationships in this new text for clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse therapists, social workers and other professional groups.;Of special interest is the book's academic basis as it includes a review of the literature regarding the aetiology of psychosexual dysfunction and in the treatment that is provided.;Assessment of problems is comprehensive and the need for a tailored programme of treatment is supported by clinical examples. Problems encountered by the physically or intellectually handicapped, homosexuals and older people are addressed with sensitivity.;This cognitive-behavioural approach to the subject brings together the main therapies in a unique sythesis combined with the author's individual emphases, based on her clinical experience in Great Britain and Australia.

Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin (STH) is a protein hormone that stimulates growth and cell reproduction in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid; single chain polypeptide hormone which is synthesised, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland. HGH promotes growth in children and plays an important role in adult metabolism. The body secretes the hormone, in decreasing amounts, throughout our lifetimes. The amount of hormone in the body can be measured by levels of IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor). Growth hormone has a profound effect on all the cells of the body, more than any other hormone because it is the cell generator. This book presents the latest research in the field.

This book presents important and recent research on testosterone which is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. Testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females although small amounts are secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In both males and females, it plays key roles in health and well-being. Examples include enhanced libido, energy, immune function, and protection against osteoporosis. On average, the adult male body produces about twenty times the amount of testosterone that an adult female's body does.

The health of a population is most accurately reflected in the rate of growth of its children. This theme, prevalent in this book, underlies the analysis and presentation of what is by far the largest compilation of growth data ever assembled in one source. The first edition, published in 1976, included all known reliable recent results on height, weight, skinfolds, and other body measurements from all parts of the globe. In this edition, numerous subsequent measurements taken between 1976 and 1988 have been included, as well as the results of a large number of new studies made on rate of maturation as evinced by bone age and pubertal development stages. Many sections of the book dwell on disentangling the effects of the environment and heredity on growth, and attempt to answer the question of whether one universal standard suffices for all peoples of the world or whether different populations (such as races or nations) should each have their own optimal growth standards.

Brown Bodies, White Babies focuses on the practice of cross-racial gestational surrogacy, in which a woman - through in-vitro fertilization using the sperm and egg of intended parents or donors - carries a pregnancy for intended parents of a different race. Focusing on the racial differences between parents and surrogates, this book is interested in how reproductive technologies intersect with race, particularly when brown bodies produce white babies. While the potential of reproductive technologies is far from pre-determined, the ways in which these technologies are currently deployed often serve the interests of dominant groups, through the creation of white, middle-class, heteronormative families. Laura Harrison, providing an important understanding of the work of women of color as surrogates, connects this labor to the history of racialized reproduction in the United States. Cross-racial surrogacy is one end of a continuum in which dominant groups rely on the reproductive potential of nonwhite women, whose own reproductive desires have been historically thwarted and even demonized. Brown Bodies, White Babies provides am interdisciplinary analysis that includes legal cases of contested surrogacy, historical examples of surrogacy as a form of racialized reproductive labor, the role of genetics in the assisted reproduction industry, and the recent turn toward reproductive tourism. Joining the ongoing feminist debates surrounding reproduction, motherhood, race, and the body, Brown Bodies, White Babies ultimately critiques the new potentials for parenthood that put the very contours of kinship into question.

Has the college experience of women been an influence on the number of children desired and the number and spacing of their children? Do women come to college with their attitudes and values in this regard already formed? This study of 15,000 women, freshmen and seniors in 45 American colleges and universities, both secular and nonsecular, attempts to answer this question and to determine how such characteristics as religious preference, career intentions, and the number of children in her own family influence a woman's fertility values. Attention is paid to an earlier finding that Catholic college graduates have higher fertility than Catholic high school graduates, although higher education is usually associated with lower fertility. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A critical analysis of white, working class North Americans' motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF Each year, more and more Americans travel out of the country seeking low cost medical treatments abroad, including fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). As the lower middle classes of the United States have been priced out of an expensive privatized "baby business," the Czech Republic has emerged as a central hub of fertility tourism, offering a plentitude of blonde-haired, blue-eyed egg donors at a fraction of the price. Fertility Holidays presents a critical analysis of white, working class North Americans' motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF. Within this diaspora, patients become consumers, urged on by the representation of a white Europe and an empathetic health care system, which seems nonexistent at home. As the volume traces these American fertility journeys halfway around the world, it uncovers layers of contradiction embedded in global reproductive medicine. Speier reveals the extent to which reproductive travel heightens the hope ingrained in reproductive technologies, especially when the procedures are framed as "holidays." The pitch of combining a vacation with their treatment promises couples a stress-free IVF cycle; yet, in truth, they may become tangled in fraught situations as they endure an emotionally wrought cycle of IVF in a strange place. Offering an intimate, first-hand account of North Americans' journeys to the Czech Republic for IVF, Fertility Holidays exposes reproductive travel as a form of consumption which is motivated by complex layers of desire for white babies, a European vacation, better health care, and technological success.