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Life history of Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). Reproductive parameters, infant mortality, and troop development.

Longitudinal data of reproductive parameters from two langur troops (Presbytis entellus) at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, are presented. Females can reach menarche at approximately 29 months of age and conceive about 5 months later. Gestation length is about 200 days, average cycling length is 24 days, and mean interbirth interval 15.3 months. Postpartum amenorrhea, which ranges from 80-140 days will be reduced to 23-80 days in cases of stillbirths or early losses of infants, a fact that bears consequences in regard to the discussion of infanticide and reproductive advantage. Troop development showed distinct differences in two neighboring troops, especially in number of surviving female infants until sexual maturity. Both troops taken together, 77.9% of the newborns reached the infant-II stage (6 months), 59.3% survived until their mother's next infant (average, calculated for the mean birth interval of 15.3 months), and only 35.9% completed the 2nd year of life.

Age Factors↗

Breeding season influxes and the behaviour of adult male samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis).

Troops comprising a high density population of samango monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) in Natal province, South Africa, experienced an influx of adult males during the breeding season. Observation of one troop revealed that these males competed with one another and with two resident males for access to receptive females. Although both sexes initiated copulation, attempts to do so were more often successful if female-initiated. Males did not interact with non-receptive females and there were no recorded attempts at infanticide. Male-male interactions were agonistic in the presence of receptive females and neutral at other times. No ritualized displays of dominance and subordinance were seen. The significance of these observations for male reproductive strategies is discussed.

Animals↗

Changes in female reproductive condition following male take-overs in a colony of hamadryas and hybrid baboons.

This paper describes and discusses events observed in the Madrid colony of hamadryas and hybrid baboons, when a novel group of 3 adult males, 3 adult females and 1 unweaned infant was introduced to the resident colony comprising 12 adult females, 11 juveniles and 6 unweaned infants. Novel males took over resident adult females in any reproductive condition, and all acyclic females (i.e. lactating, pregnant and immature) exhibited a dramatic enhancement of sexual activity. Lactating females shortened their postpartum amenorrhoea periods and resumed oestrous cycles around day 14 following the introduction of the novel males, without infanticide occurring. Their return to breeding condition was not affected by the age of their current infant or the day they were taken over by the males. A female in an early stage of pregnancy aborted spontaneously and resumed oestrus on day 26. The other pregnant female significantly shortened her gestation time, delivered a viable infant on day 13, and resumed breeding activity 39 days post-partum (on day 52), while suckling her infant. A cycling female adopted and suckled a 74-day-old infant, continued showing oestrous cycles and conceived. Immature females reached menarche significantly earlier than expected and only then joined one of the newly established harem units. It is argued that the observed enhancement of sexual activity was not imposed by the males' aggressive behaviour but rather was a spontaneous female response to male novelty. This single causal factor was potent enough to override the role that nutrition and lactation normally play in the control of the females' reproductive activity. Differences in latency until the appearance of the response were probably due to the different constraints imposed by the female's current reproductive state. It was also hypothesized that when (a) sexual swellings are attractive to males, (b) novel males are especially active in the process of bonding with new females, and (c) males are important sources of coalitionary support, females might by developing sexual swellings compete more successfully against other females and attain a higher position in the female hierarchy of the newly established unit. This would have the ultimate effect of increasing their potential reproductive success. In several cases females did gain socially by coming into oestrus, but attained no immediate reproductive advantage.

Aggression↗

What a maleless group can tell us about the constraints on female transfer in Thomas's langurs (Presbytis thomasi).

During a long-term study of wild Thomas's langurs (Presbytis thomasi), the adult male of one of the bisexual study groups, group M, suddenly disappeared. Just after the adult male's disappearance, the females of group M actively avoided other groups and sometimes formed subgroups. Infants were attacked by extra-group males and 1 infant disappeared. After about 2 months, the females initiated affiliative interactions with males of neighbouring groups. Aggressive interactions between females of group M and females of other groups were also observed. Females of group M did not leave their home range in spite of efforts by adult males to lead them away. After about 4.5 months, a former all-male band member joined group M. The coincidences of this case suggest that increased infanticide risk, increased food competition, loss of knowledge of the home range and loss of established social relationships could be important constraints on female transfer. A comparison with 5 other studies of 1-male groups in which the adult male disappeared showed that proximate factors, such as the presence of infants, the size of neighbouring groups and the presence of extra-group males, influence female decisions.

Animals↗

[The gate the Kaiser opened for women. Rotenhausgasse (1), Vienna-Alservorstadt].

This paper refers to one of the entrances to the former 'delivery house' of the old Vienna General Hospital, namely the door in Rotenhausgasse. It was used for 70 years, from 1784 to 1854. According to the wishes of Emperor Joseph II, unmarried women could be supported by specialists, anonymously and thus escaping shame. Connected with it was the protection of the newborn against exposure and infanticide.

Austria↗

Estimation of fetal age by histological study of kidney.

An attempt has been made to correlate the gestational age of a fetus with a histological study of the sequential development of nephrons in the kidneys. One hundred and eighteen dead fetuses aged between 14 and 40 weeks of gestation were examined. In each case, paraffin sections from the kidneys were studied microscopically and the number of glomerular generations present was counted and correlated with the reported period of gestation based on obstetric calculations. The results were analysed and statistically confirmed a high degree of correlation, indicating that this could be a reliable method of estimating fetal age in forensic situations, such as infanticide and criminal abortion.

Abortion, Illegal↗

Murderous parents.

This article offers observations regarding some of the major manifestations of family violence, neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide with the purpose of aiding in the early identification of parents at risk. They are discussed within the past and present historical and cultural milieu. A brief review of pertinent literature is presented. Pertinent case studies from the forensic psychiatric practice of the author along with psychodynamic reflections are offered.

Adult↗

Relationship between abortion and child abuse.

Although permissive abortion has been advocated on the grounds it will reduce the prevalence of child abuse and infanticide, there is no evidence to prove it has. There is a growing concern that it may have contributed to the problem. This article outlines eight possible methods whereby an increasing rate of abortion will lead to an increasing rate of abuse. There is evidence that an abortion results in depression which hinders mother-infant bonding in a subsequent pregnancy. An abortion of the first pregnancy may interrupt the developing bonding mechanism and interfere with the ability to bond to the next infant. If the hypothesis is correct, medicine by endorsing abortion on request may be jeopardizing the safety and care of a large number of children.

Abortion, Induced↗

Homicide and mental illness in New Zealand, 1970-2000.

BACKGROUND: Homicides by mentally ill persons have led to political concerns about deinstitutionalisation. AIMS: To provide accurate information about the contribution of mental illness to homicide rates. METHOD: Retrospective study of homicide in New Zealand from 1970 to 2000, using data from government sources. 'Mentally abnormal homicide'perpetrators were defined as those found unfitto stand trial, not guilty by reason of insanity, convicted and sentenced to psychiatric committal, or convicted of infanticide. Group and time trends were analysed. RESULTS: Mentally abnormal homicides constituted 8.7% of the 1498 homicides. The annual rate of such homicides was 1.3 per million population, static over the period. Total homicides increased by over 6% per year from 1970 to 1990, then declined from 1990 to 2000. The percentage of all homicides committed by the mentally abnormal group fell from 19.5% in 1970 to 5.0% in 2000. Ten percent of perpetrators had been admitted to hospital during the month before the offence; 28.6% had had no prior contact with mental health services. Victims were most commonly known to the perpetrator (74%). CONCLUSIONS: Deinstitutionalisation appears not to be associated with an increased risk of homicide by people who are mentally ill.

Adolescent↗

Reproduction of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) in harems.

Adult monkeys caught in the wild were housed in 2 harems and used for breeding during 7 successive years. Monkeys born in captivity and reared in the parental groups or in peer groups were also used for breeding. The live birth production rate amounted to 80% and reproduction was stable over the 7 year period. All but one of the females born in captivity showed normal maternal behaviour towards their firstborn infants. Aggression between females, breech deliveries, infanticide and reluctance of the male to copulate with females which grew up in his harem, were significant factors that reduced productivity.

Animals↗

Sodomy and heresy in early modern Switzerland.

The author compares records, from the early modern era, of sodomy trials in two parts of French Switzerland (Geneva, a Protestant city, and Fribourg, A Catholic pastoral area) and presents evidence that: (1) men charged with "sodomy" were prosecuted more often for homosexuality in cities and for bestiality in rural areas, (2) male homosexual subcultures were associated with the growth of large urban centers, (3) sodomy was punished with greater severity than any other crime than infanticide, (4) in both Geneva and Fribourg repression of sodomy increased during periods of religious zeal. With the advent of the Enlightenment, the number of sodomy trials fell as prosecutions for crimes of personal violence declined and prosecutions for crimes against property increased. This is the first English translation of Monter's article, originally written in French.

Capital Punishment↗

Clinical utilization of atypical antipsychotics in pregnancy and lactation.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the available literature regarding the safety of atypical antipsychotics in pregnancy and lactation in order to recommend evidence-based strategies for pharmacologic management of psychosis in these conditions. DATA SOURCES: We summarized the results from articles identified via MEDLINE/PubMed/TOXNET (1993-January 31, 2004), using the key terms pregnancy, lactation, breast-feeding, human milk, psychotropic drugs, atypical antipsychotics, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, clozapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Retrospective studies, clinical observations, and case reports regarding the 6 atypical antipsychotics mentioned above were selected and analyzed. Extensive manual review of pertinent journals and textbooks was also performed. DATA SYNTHESIS: Reviewed studies show that olanzapine and clozapine apparently do not increase the teratogenic risk if administered to pregnant women, while evidence on quetiapine, risperidone, aripiprazole, and ziprasidone is still limited. In contrast, available information is not able to exclude unwanted serious effects associated with the use of all atypical antipsychotics on mother-infant dyads. Furthermore, more than a few studies suggest increased hyperglycemic risk for pregnant women related to atypical antipsychotic therapy during gestation. Finally, published evidence about the effects on long-term infant neurodevelopment of drug exposure through both placenta and breast milk is represented only by sporadic case reports. CONCLUSIONS: It is well known that potential consequences of an untreated psychotic episode may be severe and may lead to the mother attempting suicide and/or infanticide. For these reasons, clinicians need to help mothers weigh both fetal and neonatal risks of exposure to drugs against the potential risk they and their infant may incur if the psychiatric illness is not treated. On the other hand, atypical antipsychotics in pregnancy and breast-feeding do not show evident advantages in safety when compared with typical neuroleptic agents. Therefore, we suggest that the most relevant parameters for selecting the best clinical option for pregnant and breast-feeding women with schizophrenia and related disorders remain strongly related to 3 main points: (1). cautious evaluation of the risk/benefit ratio of fetal and neonatal drug exposure, (2). degree of severity of maternal psychiatric illness, and (3). careful preliminary choice of drugs characterized by a balanced safety/efficacy profile.

Breast Feeding↗

Who killed Laius?: On Sophocles' enigmatic message.

Using Laplanche's basic conceptualisation of the role of the other in unconscious processes, the author proposes a reading of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus the King, according to basic principles of dream interpretation. This reading corroborates contemporary literary perspectives suggesting that Sophocles' tragedy may not only convey the myth but also provide a critical analysis of how myths work. Important textual inconsistencies and incoherence, which have been noted through the centuries, suggest the existence of another, repressed story. Moreover, the action of the play points to enigmatic parental messages of infanticide and the silencing of Oedipus's story, as well as their translation into primordial guilt, as the origins of the tragic denouement. Oedipus's self-condemnation of parricide follows these enigmatic codes and is unrelated to, and may even contradict, the evidence offered in the tragedy as to the identity of Laius's murderers. Moreover, Sophocles' text provides a complex intertwining of hermeneutic and deterministic perspectives. Through the use of the mythical deterministic content, the formal characteristics of Sophocles' text, mainly its complex time perspective and extensive use of double meaning, dramatise in the act of reading an acute awareness of interpretation. This reading underscores the fundamental role of the other in the constitution of unconscious processes.

Adult↗

Listening psychoanalytically to the Shoah half a century on.

The author discusses the repercussions of the Nazi genocide of the Jews on descendants of victims and survivors, with particular reference to identifications. A typical vampiric form of identification is discussed, in which the subject is stated to be neither alive nor dead, unborn, in an imageless, timeless and spaceless condition, and imprisoned in an earlier generation's traumas. Analysis of such cases must, the author shows, tackle the genocide-induced fantasies of a vampire complex involving infanticide and parricide in addition to the incestuous and parricidal wishes of the Oedipus complex. These ideas are illustrated by a case history in which the female patient concerned, although born after the Shoah, carried the unrepresentable parental traumas within her to the detriment of her affective and professional life. The patient was effectively linked with her mother in a deadly circulation through communicating vessels, which was repeated in the transference countertransference constellation and resulted in a disavowal of both birth and death, mediated by the genocidal project. The author shows how the analysand was gradually released from this vampiric fusion and became able to reappropriate her secondary narcissistic and oedipal identifications, the resulting triangulation opening the way to sublimation and creativity.

Adult↗

WHO KILLED LAIUS?: ON SOPHOCLES' ENIGMATIC MESSAGE.

Using Laplanche's basic conceptualisation of the role of the other in unconscious processes, the author proposes a reading of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus the King, according to basic principles of dream interpretation. This reading corroborates contemporary literary perspectives suggesting that Sophocles' tragedy may not only convey the myth but also provide a critical analysis of how myths work. Important textual inconsistencies and incoherence, which have been noted through the centuries, suggest the existence of another, repressed story. Moreover, the action of the play points to enigmatic parental messages of infanticide and the silencing of Oedipus's story, as well as their translation into primordial guilt, as the origins of the tragic denouement. Oedipus's self-condemnation of parricide follows these enigmatic codes and is unrelated to, and may even contradict, the evidence offered in the tragedy as to the identity of Laius's murderers. Moreover, Sophocles' text provides a complex intertwining of hermeneutic and deterministic perspectives. Through the use of the mythical deterministic content, the formal characteristics of Sophocles' text, mainly its complex time perspective and extensive use of double meaning, dramatise in the act of reading an acute awareness of interpretation. This reading underscores the fundamental role of the other in the constitution of unconscious processes.

Journal Article↗

Pharmacotherapy of postpartum psychosis.

The term postpartum psychosis (PP) is not a discrete nosological entity but rather, refers to a group of heterogeneous disorders that share the common features of the presence of psychosis and onset of symptoms during the postpartum period. Although there remains a debate regarding its diagnostic status, PP is generally considered as belonging to the bipolar spectrum. The prognosis for the individual episodes is considered generally favourable but it is a potentially serious illness due to the increased risk of suicide and infanticide. Furthermore, puerperal and non-puerperal recurrences are quite common. There is paucity of controlled trials in the acute and prophylactic treatment of PP and the data are limited largely to the use of lithium and oestrogen. Strategies for the clinical management of PP should include early identification of women at risk; close monitoring of mood state during pregnancy, prompt recognition of impending psychosis and aggressive pharmacotherapy. In general, treatment for PP is essentially the same as for similar non-puerperal episodes.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

Effect of food restriction on reproduction and lactation in house mice mated post partum.

Primiparous, post-partum mated BALB/c bom inbred mice were allowed to raise litters of 6 young until Day 22 of lactation: 11 of 25 females were restricted to 60% of food consumption of ad-libitum fed dams after stud male removal at Day 2 of lactation. Since weight gain of restricted females during lactation was not inhibited and infanticidal behaviour was not enhanced, food deprivation can be considered to have been relatively mild. However, none of the food-restricted dams gave birth to a second litter whereas 12 of the 14 ad-libitum fed mice littered. This pregnancy failure is suggested to be due to implantation failure or abortion shortly after implantation, which is attributed to maternal manipulation rather than to immediate consequences of energetic demands of lactated young. The dynamics of the weight changes of dams and young suggest that milk production in suckling house mice drops most markedly between Days 17 and 18 of lactation, irrespective of whether the dams are non-pregnant, pregnant, or food-restricted.

Animals↗

Male turnover reduces population growth: an enclosure experiment on voles.

Turnover of individuals is assumed to cause disruptions of social organization, followed by reduced reproduction and survival. We tested how male turnover (removal of resident males and their replacement by unfamiliar males) affected population performance in experimental root vole (Microtus oeconomus) populations. The treatment simulated predation of adult males, with the subsequent replacement by immigrants, and provided insight into the interaction between extrinsic (i.e., predation) and intrinsic (i.e., social organization) factors. We showed that recruitment and female survival dramatically declined and that reproduction commenced slightly later in treatment populations compared with control populations. The treatment nearly halved the population growth rate. We suspect that recruitment failed due to infanticidal immigrating males. Reduced female survival was particularly apparent in treatment populations in which females exhibited a high degree of spatial overlap. Our experimental results show how males may significantly shape population dynamics and suggest how predation and social factors interact mechanistically.

Animal Migration↗