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PubMedDate not supplied

Population size, distribution and growth in Iran.

The author examines population size, distribution, and growth in Iran using data for 1966, 1976 census data, and some historical data for the nineteenth century. "This paper discusses changes in the size of population through time, population distribution, and regional patterns of population growth of the 23 provinces. It has been argued in this paper that because of a large family size norm as a religious duty to increase the numbers of the Islamic faith, early age at marriage, especially among females, common practice of polygamy, and the war with Iraq, population will grow even faster. It is concluded that population policy must be integrated into the national development plans."

Asia↗
PubMed1982

Marriage and family types in Bangladesh: a village study.

"This paper deals with marriage patterns and family types as prevalent in a village in Bangladesh." Data are from a survey conducted in 1977-1978. Five major patterns are identified: the incidence of prepubertal or underage marriage is declining, the majority of marriages are monogamous, polygamy is more common among the higher income group, the villagers have extensive kinship and marriage relationships outside the village, and the nuclear family is the dominant family type. A correlation between landholding size and family type is also noted.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1991

The family in Tanzania.

"The article starts by defining the terms and basic characteristics of the family institution. Then it moves to explain and analyze the changing roles and relationships in the Tanzania context. The article stresses...the impact of the foreign cultures and ideologies. Specifically, the role of family in [the] socialization process has been minimized due to the introduction of formal education. With regard to the demographic variables, it is noted that while death rates might be reduced due to the general improvement of health facilities, birth rates will increase....Polygamy...is [likely] to decrease due to socio-economic reasons like the level of education among the women and the economic difficulties in running large families." A trend toward smaller families is noted. The study is based on the author's recent research in Tanzania.

Africa↗
PubMed1992

[Men's marriage and reproductive strategies in South Benin: facts and opinions].

"Using a survey carried out in 1989 involving a sample of 2,590 households residing in Cotonou [Benin] and in rural areas near Cotonou, the article examines marriage and reproductive patterns of men (family formation, polygamy, level and trend of fertility). Men's opinions on marriage, fertility and family planning are also discussed." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)

Africa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Informal unions in sub-Saharan Africa: the example of the Congolese "second office"].

The author analyzes an informal type of marital union known as the "second office", which is prevalent in countries such as the Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Zaire. "He points out...aspects of the phenomenon which pertain to tradition (polygamy) as well as to sociological aspects linked to modern lifestyles (affectivity in interpersonal relationships, preeminence of the father over the uncle in matrilineal kinship systems), to the urban way of life (greater feminine independence) and to essentially monetary economic relationships. The survey method was based on 'focus groups'." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND ITA)

Africa↗
PubMed1991

Against a sea of troubles: AIDS control in Uganda.

HIV infection has spread at an alarming rate in Uganda and is continuing to do so. Polygamy and other long-standing cultural practices on the one hand, and certain life-styles adopted under Western influence on the other, have done much to make the AIDS epidemic so severe. Women are potentially a force for confronting the situation, provided that they are made aware of their rights and empowered to take decisive action in education and other fields in defence of themselves, their children and, indeed, the whole of society.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

Mythos and logos in Hesiod's Theogony, circa 700 B.C.

Hesiod's Theogony, a completely preserved poem, is dated from about 700 B.C. It depicts partly a development, partly a situation that has arisen in the course of time in the world. It constitutes an attempt to understand the cosmos as the product of a genealogical evolution, which can be seen as a process of successive separation, differentiation, and hierarchization. In this attempted picture of the world myth and reality are inextricably interwoven. Observations of natural phenomena as far as of congenital malformations are accordingly exaggerated and undergone mythical transformation. Entities enumerated in this genealogical poem, no matter whether they stand for parts and concrete phenomena of the physical world or intellectual properties and abstract concepts, behave, think, and act, and are accordingly though of, in anthropomorphic terms. Monogamy, polygamy, endogamy, exogamy, asexual and sexual reproduction, multiple conceptions and births, dominantly and recessively inherited traits, normal and abnormal offspring, and perceptions and notions on cosmogony, isogamy, and teratogenesis could be observed in the writing of the Theogony and interpreted by rational modern concepts.

Genetics↗
PubMed1991

Can we predict the mating pattern of Drosophila females from the sperm length distribution in males?

In order to test the validity of the prediction of the mating pattern of females from the sperm length distribution in males, three species of Drosophila were analysed. Males in the three species are equally polygynous but females differ in the level of polyandry. A 'low recurrence polyandry' is observed in the sperm dimorphic species D. affinis while a 'high recurrence polyandry' is observed in the sperm monomorphic species D. latifasciaeformis and D. littoralis. These results are consistent with the hypothesis proposed previously that sperm dimorphism in males can only be maintained by a selective alternative in females (i.e. facultative female polygamy), whereas a stricter mating system (e.g. 'obligatory' polyandry) should only result in sperm monomorphism irrespective of the absolute value of sperm length.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Gender- and sequence-dependent predation within group colonizers of defended plants: a constraint on cheating among bark beetles?

Bark beetles engage in one of the most pronounced examples of group procurement of defended plants. Their aggregation pheromones attract both sexes and are essential to overcome constitutive and rapidly inducible lethal defenses. The relative benefits to senders versus receivers of these signals are only partly understood. Because the initial stage of host entry can be hazardous, there may be benefit to a cheating strategy, whose practitioners respond to pheromones but do not engage in host searching. Several disadvantages to cheating have been proposed, but the role of predators has not been considered. Predators exploit bark beetle pheromones to locate prey, accumulate at the breeding site, and consume adult bark beetles before they enter the tree. Preliminary experiments quantified arrival patterns in the field. We used a laboratory assay to investigate relative predation on pioneers (those that initially select and enter hosts) and responders (those that arrive at a host in response to pheromones) during host colonization. Our model system utilized the pine engraver, Ips pini, which exhibits male harem polygamy. We allowed male I. pini to colonize host tissue and added females 1 day later. Also 1 day later, we variably added additional males and predacious checkered beetles, Thanasimus dubius. These treatments included two densities of males and three densities of predators that were selected to emulate field conditions. Responding males experienced higher predation than pioneers. T. dubius ate more males than females, independent of the presence or absence of responding males. T. dubius affected the distribution of females per male, although the number of females that survived to construct ovipositional galleries was constant. We discuss the viability of cheating, implications for biological control, and predator-prey coevolution in this cooperative, group-colonizing herbivore.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1989

Endometrial flora of infertile women in Zaria, northern Nigeria.

Microbiological study of the endometrium of 114 infertile women cultured 48 organisms (42.2%) from 42 patients (36.8%). Mycobacterium tuberculosis (16.7%) and Group B Streptococcus (8.8%) were the commonest organisms isolated. These organisms were also most commonly isolated from patients between the ages of 20 and 30 years. There is, however, an overall increase in the frequency of bacterial isolation with age-cohorts. Of the colonised patients, 36.8% were of parity less than two and most (26.3%) were nulliparous. It is possible that multiple marriages and polygamy played a significant role in the bacterial colonisation of the endometrium in the Hausa-Fulani population of Zaria, Nigeria.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A malaria control trial using insecticide-treated bed nets and targeted chemoprophylaxis in a rural area of The Gambia, west Africa. 4. Perceptions of the causes of malaria and of its treatment and prevention in the study area.

Perceptions of the causes of malaria, its treatment and prevention were studied among 996 adults, selected randomly from 73 villages and hamlets in a rural area of The Gambia. Structured questionnaires and other interview techniques were used for data collection. Malaria has no specific name in the study area; it is referred to commonly as Fula kajewo (Fula fever). Only 28% of the respondents knew that mosquitoes transmitted malaria. However, most people believed correctly that August to October was the main malaria season. Eighty-six per cent of the subjects were bed net users. The majority of nets were produced locally, usually white in colour and made of sheeting fabrics. Usage of nets was correlated with ethnic group, age and polygamy but not with education, income, occupation or ownership of certain items which indicate high social status. Analysis of expenditure on mosquito coils indicated that non-users of nets spent 43% more on coils than did users. Bed nets have been used for a long time in the study area; 98% of users saw their parents using them during their childhood.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Effects of rapid urbanization on child behaviour and health in a part of Khartoum, Sudan--II. Psycho-social influences on behaviour.

A study of child behaviour and health in a newly urbanized part of Khartoum, Sudan, was carried out in 1980 on 245 children aged 3-15 years. The same area, then rural, had been investigated in 1965. Compared to 1965, the 1980 study showed an increase of behaviour problems of boys aged 7-15. In both studies the levels of most behaviour problems were below the figures from comparable studies from developed countries. Contrary to this the physical health and nutrition had improved between 1965 and 1980. The older children of newcomers, especially blue-collar, wage-earners with low incomes showed the highest frequencies of behaviour deviances. Children who had dropped out of school had higher rates while those belonging to the best third of their grades had less behaviour problems. While polygamy did not influence the rates of behaviour problems maternal anxiety/depression and harsh corporal punishment did so. Children of school-age (7-15) showed a strong connection between poor somatic health and high rates of behaviour deviances. The impact of various cultural changes on the families and the psychological well-being of the children is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Genetic instability as the primary cause of human aging.

The origins of aging of higher forms of life, particularly humans, is presented as the consequence of an evolved balance between 4 specific kinds of dysfunction-producing events and 4 kinds of evolved counteracting effects in long-lived forms. Among the deleterious events, particular importance is assigned to damage to DNA, but damage of a different kind than classical mutations. The evolution in man's ancestors of means to counteract the kinds of events that limit the life-spans of short lived mammals is postulated to be the indirect consequence of the prior evolution of superior mental capacities. Further, it is shown that the human species rapidly evolved its life-extending mutations because of the special circumstances afforded by the subdivision of the species into small semi-isolated (genetically) tribes of 10-100 individuals in which polygamy was the key factor in rapid incorporation of life- and well-being-extending new features. These conditions permit at least one or two orders of magnitude more of such beneficial genes to have been incorporated into our genomes during the 100,000 years or so of extremely rapid human evolution that evidently occurred about 100,000 to 200,000 years age than has been posited by other workers. The sources of damage to DNA are then considered, with special emphasis on free-radical derivatives of molecular oxygen and evidence is presented that longer lived forms of mammals have peroxide lysing enzymes that produce a lower steady state of damaging radicals derived from this compound. Evidence that so-called "classical" mutations cannot be the source of aging is then reviewed. A different kind of mutation, one that is not increased in proportion to point mutations by mutagens, namely deletion of tandemly duplicated copies of genes, is discussed and the evidence that such damage (gene loss) occurs in an amount sufficient to account for the major losses in function during aging is presented. The most likely mechanisms of such loss plus the prospects for evolving and bio-engineering means to counteract these losses together with some implications regarding the documented loss of NORs with age (as regards rDNA loss) together with key areas for intensive present and future research on aging are presented.

Aging↗
PubMed2006

The relationship between monogamous/polygamous family structure and the mental health of bedouin Arab adolescents.

Previous studies of polygamy and child mental health have primarily focused on younger children. The present studies are among the first to focus on adolescents. The first study involved 210 randomly selected Bedouin Arab adolescents (mean age 15.9), who were administered instruments assessing their family environment and mental health. The second study involved 182 Bedouin Arab adolescents in which the student participants completed a single instrument about themselves and in which the teachers of the students completed the Teachers' Report Form of the Child Behaviour Checklist by Achenbach. The Bedouin Arab adolescents fell into two groups: (a) adolescents in monogamous family structures and (b) adolescents in polygamous family structures. The findings of the first study suggest that the two groups did not differ significantly in the majority of the assessed variables, even though there were significant differences obtained between groups for 4 of the 13 assessed variables. The two groups did not differ significantly in the second study. Results were discussed in terms of their cultural and developmental significance.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Difficult delivery and some selected factors as predictors of early postpartum psychological symptoms among Nigerian women.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to compare depressive and anxiety symptoms between Nigerian women with a difficult delivery (cesarean or instrumental) and those with an unassisted vaginal delivery during the puerperium and to highlight other factors of predictive value for symptoms. METHODS: Women (n=83) who had a difficult delivery (index group) were compared with matched control subjects (n=83) who had an unassisted vaginal delivery. They were all evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (state form) and Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale. Information was also collected on their sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric factors, and general health problems. RESULTS: After delivery, 19 subjects from the index group (22.9%) obtained scores higher than the threshold for significant depressive symptoms, as compared with 13 subjects from the control group (15.7%). Six weeks later, the rates were 10 (12.0%) and 8 (9.6%), respectively. The mean anxiety and depressive symptom scores for the difficulty delivery group were significantly higher at birth. Although both groups improved over time, the differences were still significant after 6 weeks. Using stepwise regression analysis, we observed cesarean delivery and polygamy to predict depressive symptoms after birth but not after 6 weeks. Previous induced abortions were also observed to predict anxiety and depressive symptoms throughout. Depressive symptoms at 6 weeks were predicted by depressive symptoms at birth and by anxiety symptoms at 6 weeks. The same pattern was observed for anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSION: Although difficult delivery was associated with higher levels of symptoms, it was not predictive of postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms at 6 weeks. Also, of other possible risk factors studied, only illegal abortions were observed to be important in the study population during the puerperium.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Social, cultural and sexual behavioral determinants of observed decline in HIV infection trends: lessons from the Kagera Region, Tanzania.

This paper is a follow-up of earlier findings by the Kagera AIDS Research Project (KARP), which documented declining trends in the prevalence and incidence of HIV infection in the Kagera region of Tanzania. The paper examines socio-cultural and sexual behavioral changes as possible determinants of the observed declining trends in Bukoba, the largest urban area of the region. The study used in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, field observations and ethnographic assessments to collect the required data. The findings suggest that since the initial years of the epidemic there have been significant changes in sexual behaviors, norms, values, and customs that are considered high-risk for HIV transmission. The findings show an increase in condom use, abstinence, zero grazing (sticking to one sexual partner) and uptake of voluntary HIV testing while traditional practices such as polygamy, widow inheritance, excessive alcohol consumption, and sexual networking are declining. We suggest that these changes are partly a result of the severity of the epidemic itself in the study area, and interventions that have been carried out in this area since 1987. The major interventions have included health education, the distribution of condoms, AIDS education in schools, voluntary HIV counseling and testing. These are encouraging findings that give hope and we believe that other places within Tanzania and other countries experiencing a severe AIDS crisis have much to learn from this experience. However, changes in norms and behavior are vulnerable; people in Kagera are still at risk and there is a need for continued intervention together with monitoring of the direction of the epidemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Sociodemographic factors in mental disorders associated with infertility in Nigeria.

The mental status of 37 female patients with infertility and that of 37 healthy controls was evaluated using General Health Questionnaire, Present State Examination, and clinical assessment. An interview schedule, designed to elicit information on sociodemographic, psychiatric predisposing, and obstetric factors, was also administered. A significantly higher proportion (29.7%) of the patients was found to have diagnosable psychopathology, mainly depressive episode and generalized anxiety disorder. Compared with the control group, the infertile women experienced poorer marital relationships, had a significant family history of infertility, were more negatively predisposed to child adoption. and had a greater history of surgery and induced abortion. Polygamy was found to have a close association with psychopathology in the sample of infertile women. The implications of these findings and ways of improving the mental status of the infertile woman are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genital manifestations and reproductive health in female residents of a Wuchereria bancrofti-endemic area in Tanzania.

To assess the significance of lymphatic filariasis for the development of chronic genital manifestations and for reproductive health in women, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 2 villages in north-eastern Tanzania including interview and gynaecological examination of adult women, focusing primarily on reproductive history and genital health. In a population of 2165 residents, prevalence of Wuchereria bancrofti microfilaraemia was 28%, and geometric mean intensity of microfilariae (mf) was 722 mf/mL. Leg lymphoedema (elephantiasis) was present in 4.2% of adults aged > or = 15 years, and hydrocoele in 26.5% of adult males. Five hundred and thirty women completed an interview, and 404 of these completed a gynaecological examination. Most women were Muslims (72%), polygamy was common (29%), and 49% of women had undergone circumcision (clitoridectomy). Presence of microfilaraemia did not influence fertility or fertility-related variables including age at menarche, parity, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, Caesarean section and premature labour, nor presence of primary or secondary infertility. Mf status was strongly correlated with abnormal menstruation pattern in the 30+ years age-group (P = 0.001), but not in the < 30 years age-group. Cervical, vaginal and vulval pathology was unrelated to mf status. Two women, aged 46 and 77 years, had vulval oedema of probable filarial origin, both were mf negative. Overall, microfilaraemia appeared to have no influence on genital disease or reproductive health, and chronic manifestations of lymphatic filariasis of the genitals does not appear to be a substantial problem in women.

Adolescent↗