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PubMed1993

"Natural family planning": effective birth control supported by the Catholic Church.

During 20-22 September Manchester is to host the 1993 follow up to last year's "earth summit" in Rio de Janeiro. At that summit the threat posed by world overpopulation received considerable attention. Catholicism was perceived as opposed to birth control and therefore as a particular threat. This was based on the notion that the only method of birth control approved by the church--natural family planning--is unreliable, unacceptable, and ineffective. In the 20 years since E L Billings and colleagues first described the cervical mucus symptoms associated with ovulation natural family planning has incorporated these symptoms and advanced considerably. Ultrasonography shows that the symptoms identify ovulation precisely. According to the World Health Organisation, 93% of women everywhere can identify the symptoms, which distinguish adequately between the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle. Most pregnancies during trials of natural family planning occur after intercourse at times recognised by couples as fertile. Thus pregnancy rates have depended on the motivation of couples. Increasingly studies show that rates equivalent to those with other contraceptive methods are readily achieved in the developed and developing worlds. Indeed, a study of 19,843 poor women in India had a pregnancy rate approaching zero. Natural family planning is cheap, effective, without side effects, and may be particularly acceptable to the efficacious among people in areas of poverty.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1979

The natural history of violence.

In the past, human violence was associated with food shortage, but recently it has increased even in relatively well-fed societies. The reason appears from studies of monkeys under relaxed, spacious conditions and under crowding stress. Uncrowded monkeys have unaggressive leaders, rarely quarrel, and protect females and young. Crowded monkeys (even well-fed) have brutal bosses, often quarrel, and wound and kill each other, including females and young. Crowding has similar behaviour effects on other mammals, with physiological disturbances including greater susceptibility to infections. All this appears to be a regular response to overpopulation, reducing the population before it has depleted its natural resources. Human beings, like monkeys and other mammals, need ample space, and become more violent when crowded. Human history is marked by population cycles: population outgrows resources, the resulting violence, stress and disease mortality cuts down the population, leading to a relief period of social and cultural progress, till renewed population growth produces the next crisis. The modern population crisis is world-wide, and explains the increase of violence even in well-fed societies. The solution to the problem of violence is to substitute voluntary birth control for involuntary death control, and bring about relaxed conditions for a reduced world population.

Aggression↗
PubMed2000

The effects of changing weather on public health.

Many diseases are influenced by weather conditions or display strong seasonality, suggestive of a possible climatic contribution. Projections of future climate change have, therefore, compelled health scientists to re-examine weather/disease relationships. There are three projected physical consequences of climate change: temperature rise, sea level rise, and extremes in the hydrologic cycle. This century, the Earth has warmed by about 0.5 degrees centigrade, and the mid-range estimates of future temperature change and sea level rise are 2.0 degrees centigrade and 49 centimeters, respectively, by the year 2100. Extreme weather variability associated with climate change may especially add an important new stress to developing nations that are already vulnerable as a result of environmental degradation, resource depletion, overpopulation, or location (e.g. low-lying coastal deltas). The regional impacts of climate change will vary widely depending on existing population vulnerability. Health outcomes of climate change can be grouped into those of: (a) direct physical consequences, e.g. heat mortality or drowning; (b) physical/chemical sequelae, e.g. atmospheric transport and formation of air pollutants; (c) physical/biological consequences, e.g. response of vector- and waterborne diseases, and food production; and (d) sociodemographic impacts, e.g. climate or environmentally induced migration or population dislocation. Better understanding of the linkages between climate variability as a determinant of disease will be important, among other key factors, in constructing predictive models to guide public health prevention.

Communicable Diseases↗
PubMed2006

Frequency of functional bowel disorders among healthy volunteers in Mexico City.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of functional bowel disorders (FBD) in Mexico using the Rome II criteria is unknown. METHODS: The Rome II Modular Questionnaire (RII-MQ) was translated into Spanish in coordination with the Rome Committee and their Latin American program. Volunteers were recruited by advertisement in Mexico City, and administered the RII-MQ. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 324 healthy volunteers, with a mean age of 35.7; 66% were female. The most prevalent disorders were heartburn 35%, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 35%, functional bloating 21%, proctalgia fugax 21%, and functional constipation 19%. Based on gender, IBS-C was 4 times more frequent in females than males (19 vs. 4.6%) and functional bloating 3 times more frequent (10 vs. 3.7%). Differences according to occupation included a higher prevalence of ulcer-like dyspepsia (p = 0.04), IBS-C (p = 0.018) and proctalgia fugax (p = 0.034) among students. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to use RII-MQ to determine the prevalence of FBD in urban Mexico. The prevalence of IBS was significant and is related to a number of factors, including the stress of living in an overpopulated city. Selection bias is likely operative. A community-based study is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Hyperplastic conotruncal endocardial cushions and transposition of great arteries in perlecan-null mice.

Perlecan is a heparan-sulfate proteoglycan abundantly expressed in pericellular matrices and basement membranes during development. Inactivation of the perlecan gene in mice is lethal at two developmental stages: around E10 and around birth. We report a high incidence of malformations of the cardiac outflow tract in perlecan-deficient embryos. Complete transposition of great arteries was diagnosed in 11 out of 15 late embryos studied (73%). Three of these 11 embryos also showed malformations of semilunar valves. Mesenchymal cells in the outflow tract were abnormally abundant in mutant embryos by E9.5, when the endocardial-mesenchymal transformation starts in wild-type embryos. At E10.5, mutant embryos lacked well-defined spiral endocardial ridges, and the excess of mesenchymal cells obstructed sometimes the outflow tract lumen. Most of this anomalous mesenchyme expressed the smooth muscle cell-specific alpha-actin isoform, a marker of the neural crest in the outflow tract of the mouse. In wild-type embryos, perlecan is present in the basal surface of myocardium and endocardium, as well as surrounding presumptive neural crest cells. We suggest that the excess of mesenchyme at the earlier stages of conotruncal development precludes the formation of the spiral ridges and the rotation of the septation complex in order to achieve a concordant ventriculoarterial connection. The observed mesenchymal overpopulation might be due to an uncontrolled migration of neural crest cells, which would arrive prematurely to the heart. Thus, perlecan is involved in the control of the outflow tract mesenchymal population size, underscoring the importance of the extracellular matrix in cardiac morphogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

The collapsing perimeter. A commentary on life, death, and death-in-life.

The individual is encased in an existential, phenomenological space that has the capacity to contract or expand, to isolate itself, or to join with others. An analysis is provided of how this individual space capsule functions under varying circumstances, such as depression, schizophrenia, sociopathy, divorce, child-battery, aging, death, overpopulation, cultural disruption, and execution.

Aging↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cancer mortality by urbanization and proximity to the sea coast in Campania Region, southern Italy.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The risk for several cancers is higher in urban than in rural areas. The gradient has seldom been studied in southern Europe. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The geographical pattern of mortality for different cancers and all causes was studied in the Campania Region (about 5.6 million inhabitants), whose largest town is Naples. The key variables were residence in urban/rural and coastal/inland municipalities. Relative risks of death and corresponding 95% confidence intervals by residence were evaluated by means of Poisson log-linear regression models. RESULTS: Significantly increased mortality rates in urban compared to rural municipalities were found for several cancer causes of death. In particular, in both sexes, excesses in the order of 30-50% were observed for tobacco-related neoplasms (i.e., larynx, lung, and bladder) and cancers of the intestine, liver, brain, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, in addition to all-cancer, and all-cause mortality. In females, specific excesses were also noticed for cancer of the gallbladder, pancreas, breast and uterus (corpus and cervix). Conversely, significantly decreased mortality rates in urban with respect to rural municipalities were observed for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx in males. Coastal location and degree of urbanization were strongly correlated, thus showing similar associations with most causes of death. However, a significant excess of cancer of the pleura in males was restricted to coastal municipalities. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-smoking campaigns, sanitation improvements, hepatitis B vaccination, and a decrease in obesity emerge as high priorities with respect to cancer control strategies in the Campania Region, particularly in overpopulated, underprivileged urban areas.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Eosinophilic colitis and hepatitis in a horse with colonic intramucosal ciliated protozoa.

Tissues from a 9-year-old American Standardbred gelding with a history of anorexia, mild colic, and unexpected death were submitted to the Laboratories of Veterinary Diagnostic Medicine at the University of Illinois for histopathologic examination. Microscopic diagnoses were severe subacute, diffuse eosinophilic colitis with intralesional protozoa and a subacute to chronic eosinophilic portal hepatitis with granuloma formation. Two tissue-invading, ciliated protozoa were identified in large numbers within the colonic mucosa. The ciliates were Polymorphella ampulla and Cycloposthium sp., Phylum:Ciliophora. The eosinophilic colitis and portal hepatitis in association with the overpopulation and invasion by the ciliated protozoa suggests a causal etiology.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Consequences of infertility in developing countries: results of a questionnaire and interview survey in the South of Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: This study explores the psychological, socio-cultural and economic consequences of infertility on couples' life. The purpose of this research is to improve knowledge about the potentially serious implications of infertility in the South of Vietnam. METHODS: This study included 118 infertile couples who filled in questionnaires and 28 men and women who were interviewed. RESULTS: Data of the questionnaire show men and women do not differ in their responses and attitudes towards infertility. Almost one-third of the participants require psychological support. Interviewees experience secrecy, social pressure and economic hardship. CONCLUSION: Offspring are very important to Vietnamese couples. Their future depends on children. Family plays an important role in the experiences of the infertile couple. Economic consequences are a particular distressing factor. There is a need for psychological counselling in the treatment of infertile couples in the South of Vietnam. It should be realised that in developing countries, despite overpopulation, unwanted childlessness is an important social and economical burden that needs attention.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Early detection and intervention in psychosis: an ethical paradigm shift.

This paper will first posit the rationale for intervention before onset, then outline the current usual practice of treating schizophrenia and the determinants of that practice. Recent developments that permit or demand a change in this practice will then be elaborated. The article concludes with an elaboration of the currently known risks and benefits of early intervention research. The ethics of early intervention are undergoing a paradigm shift, a shift that supports early intervention research as being necessary to bring empirical balance to territory that is currently overpopulated with zealous opinions.

Antipsychotic Agents↗
PubMed1994

Reflections on change in science and religion.

Science and the Catholic church are both conservative, slow-to-change institutions. However, science has institutionalized procedures that ensure that ample amounts of criticism of currently accepted theories and methodologies will always be present. This arrangement of continuous conjectures and refutation in science ensures often slow but steady change. Because supporters often think of religions as trafficking in timeless truths, criticism of church beliefs and practices (even when intended to stimulate reflection and improvement) is frequently seen as being disloyal to the institution. Because of the growing crises caused by world overpopulation, I argue that the Catholic church's opposition to all artificial methods of birth control now lacks whatever moral force it might have had when originally promulgated. By highlighting theological perspectives that might be appropriate for the ecological realities of the 21st century, I hope the church will see the wisdom of reevaluating many of its positions in the light of rapidly approaching ecological imperatives.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1998

Human and animal factors related to relinquishment of dogs and cats in 12 selected animal shelters in the United States.

Since the 1940s, perceived companion animal overpopulation in the United States has been an important issue to the animal welfare community (Moulton, Wright, & Rinky, 1991). This surplus of animals has resulted in millions of dogs and cats being euthanized annually in animal shelters across the country. The nature and scope of this problem have been notoriously difficult to characterize. The number of animal shelters in the United Stares, the demographics of the population of animals passing through them, and the characteristics of per owners relinquishing animals are poorly understood. What portion of these animals are adopted or euthanized, why they are relinquished, and their source of acquisition are all questions for which there have been little data. Consequently, we are no closer to answering the fundamental question of how and why many animals are destroyed each year in shelters (Arkow, 1994).

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Rates of euthanasia and adoption for dogs and cats in Michigan animal shelters.

Estimates of canine and feline euthanasia at U.S. animal shelters--largely based on voluntary surveys with low response rates--make it difficult to estimate the population from which the euthanized animals derive. Estimates of euthanasia rates (animals euthanized per unit of population) have varied widely and been available only sporadically. This study used requirements of Michigan state law (Pet Shops, Dog Pounds, and Animal Shelters Act, 1969) for animal shelters to collect admission and discharge data for all 176 Michigan-licensed animal shelters. In 2003, Michigan shelters discharged 140,653 dogs: Of these, 56,972 (40%) were euthanized; 40,005 (28%) were adopted. This annual euthanasia rate is 2.6% of the estimated 2003 Michigan dog population. Michigan shelters discharged 134,405 cats in 2003: 76,321 (57%) by euthanasia and (24%) by adoption. The estimated ratio of euthanized cats to cats who had owners was 3.1%. Small shelters and privately owned shelters were associated with higher adoption rates. Comparison with historical information from the past 10 to 20 years suggests the number of companion animals being euthanized in shelters has decreased and that progress has been made in reducing the companion animal overpopulation problem.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2003

Overexpression of Bcl-W in the testis disrupts spermatogenesis: revelation of a role of BCL-W in male germ cell cycle control.

To explore physiological roles of BCL-W, a prosurvival member of the BCL-2 protein family, we generated transgenic (TG) mice overexpressing Bcl-w driven by a chicken beta-actin promoter. Male Bcl-w TG mice developed normally but were infertile. The adult TG testes displayed disrupted spermatogenesis with various severities ranging from thin seminiferous epithelium containing less germ cells to Sertoli cell-only appearance. No overpopulation of any type of germ cells was observed during testicular development. In contrast, the developing TG testes displayed decreased number of spermatogonia, degeneration, and detachment of spermatocytes and Sertoli cell vacuolization. The proliferative activity of germ cells was significantly reduced during testicular development and spermatogenesis, as determined by in vivo and in vitro 5'-bromo-2'deoxyuridine incorporation assays. Sertoli cells were structurally and functionally normal. The degenerating germ cells were TUNEL-negative and no typical apoptotic DNA ladder was detected. Our data suggest that regulated spatial and temporal expression of BCL-W is required for normal testicular development and spermatogenesis, and overexpression of BCL-W inhibits germ cell cycle entry and/or cell cycle progression leading to disrupted spermatogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Chung-Yeul-Gue-Soup-Sa-Gan-Tang, traditional Korean medicine, enhances CD4(+) T cell activities and modulates Th1/Th2 lineage development.

Chung-Yeul-Gue-Soup-Sa-Gan-Tang (CYT), a traditional Korea herbal medicine, has been widely used in Korea for the treatment of various immunological disorders, including allergic asthma. In this study, CYT was examined in vitro and tested for possible immunological effects. The results demonstrated that CYT had no mitogenic effects on unstimulated CD4(+) T cells, but rather increased CD4(+) T cell proliferation upon activation with anti-CD3/CD28 antibody. Under the Th0 condition, CYT also enhanced expression of interleukin (IL)-2 in purified murine CD4(+) T cells assayed by real-time PCR, suggesting that CYT moderately increases the activity of helper T cells upon T cell receptor ligation under the neutral condition. However, the Th1 cells were overpopulated following CYT treatment under the Th1 condition, while Th2 cells were under-populated in the Th2 driven condition. In addition, under Th1/Th2-skewed conditions, the levels of IL-4 were considerably decreased, while the expression of T-bet and interferon-gamma were increased with CYT treatment. Thus, CYT enhances Th1 lineage development from naive CD4(+) T cells both by increasing Th1 specific cytokine secretion and repressing Th2 specific cytokine production. These results suggest that CYT is a desirable agent for the correction of Th2 dominant pathological disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Defining goals and conditions for a sustainable world.

Sustainable development is being approached component by component--socioeconomic, sustainable agriculture, transportation, forestry, energy use, cities, and the like--but, leaving a habitable planet for future generations will require the development of a widely shared paradigm. Further, the paradigm should be ecological from a scientific point of view. This development will be facilitated by a discussion of goals and those conditions necessary to meet them. The presently shared paradigm is that economic growth is the cure for all of society's problems, such as poverty, overpopulation, environmental degradation, and the increasing gap between rich and poor. A paradigm shift from growth to sustainability might result either from suffering painful consequences of continuing to follow out-moded paradigms or by discussing what sort of ecosystems will be available to future generations. The purpose of this paper is to help initiate such a discussion.

Ecosystem↗
PubMed2000

Implementing the ASAM Criteria in community treatment centers in Illinois: opportunities and challenges. American Society of Addiction Medicine.

The incorporation of the ASAM Criteria into addiction treatment centers procedure has afforded us an enormous opportunity to add credibility to our treatment. Herein lies perhaps the strongest argument for these criteria. The ASAM Criteria encourage addiction treatment centers to establish themselves as healthcare providers in their own right. The task is now for Illinois addiction treatment providers; particularly community based providers, to prove our credibility through the legitimate use of the criteria. Since most, if not all, of our patients are without means and without knowledge on quality treatment, they become easy targets for substandard or at least unimaginative and uninspired treatment. It is not that community based treatment centers are, by nature, unprincipled treatment warehouses. But it certainly can be said that our centers are frequently the last to change our treatment practices. Certainly we have become "the last resort" for the courts, overburdened mental health centers and overpopulated homeless shelters with little emphasis on clinical quality of care. Overcoming such programmed ways of viewing treatment was difficult specifically for Triangle Center and generally for community treatment providers throughout Illinois. In fact, I dare say that this transition has not occurred in total as many still passively resist this opportunity. Yet others have viewed this change as the breath of fresh air that our profession has long sought. Such variance in opinion ultimately proves that implementation of the ASAM Criteria, in a community based system, is dependent on the clinician and administrators willingness to understand, recognize and apply the Criteria.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ecological change and the future of the human species: can physicians make a difference?

Global environmental change is occurring so rapidly that it is affecting the health and threatening the future of many of Earth's inhabitants, including human beings. Global warming; contamination of the air, water, and soil; and rampant deforestation have led to a collapse in biodiversity that threatens the integrity of the biophysical systems upon which all organisms depend.A basic cause of environmental degradation is human overpopulation and the nonsustainable consumption of natural resources by the human community. Everything that we have accomplished in the fields of medicine and public health could be undermined if we do not pay attention to these rapid environmental changes. As healers, human beings, and members of the biological community, we need to broaden our perspective on health and disease. Unless we devote our attention to stabilizing and repairing the ecosystem, our professional and personal accomplishments as health professionals may be swept away. Health care providers--particularly physicians--can play a role by adopting an ecosystem health perspective as we ply our trade. By helping people avoid unwanted pregnancies, by using resources parsimoniously, and by staying engaged in the natural world, we can help to prevent the collapse of the biological systems upon which we all depend.

Ecosystem↗