WorldWideScience

Sample records for eunuchism

  1. Self-esteem among eunuchs of Hazara Division, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvi, Sajid Mehmood; Turabi, Maleeka Rubab; Ali, Syeda Ayat-E-Zainab; Irfan, Muhammad Shoaib; Afridi, Maryam; Shah, Asghar Ali

    2018-02-01

    Self-esteem among eunuchs is highly influenced by a variety of factors. The aim of the current study was to investigate the differences in self-esteem of eunuchs on the basis of education, income, age and marital status. The study was conducted at the University of Haripur, Pakistan, from December 2015 to November 2016. A sample of 140 eunuchs was collected from different areas of Hazara division, through purposive and snowball sampling technique. A self-esteem scale with four sub-scales was used to measure the self-esteem of eunuchs. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine education level differences. The t-test was applied to find out the impact of demographics differences such as marital status, income level, and age on self-esteem of eunuchs. The scale used was found to be quite reliable with alpha coefficient of 0.85. The outcomes are significant and showed that educated, higher income, younger and unmarried eunuchs had higher self-esteem (p<0.05).

  2. Eunuchs in contemporary society: characterizing men who are voluntarily castrated (part I).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Thomas W; Brett, Michelle A; Roberts, Lesley F; Wassersug, Richard J

    2007-07-01

    Some males desire to be emasculated for no medical reason. These individuals are often secretive about their desires and little is known about their background and motivation. We sought to characterize these modern eunuchs and to identify risk factors for genital self-mutilation or self-administered chemical castration. We posted a questionnaire on the Eunuch Archive ( http://www.eunuch.org) that was responded to by 135 voluntarily castrated males. Questionnaire data were supplemented by accompanying narrative responses and several personal interviews. Participants answered questionnaire items pertaining to their knowledge about androgen deprivation, the nature of their castration, and the length of time between initial presentation of castration paraphilia and castration. These questionnaire data allowed us to compare and contrast voluntary chemical and physical eunuchs. The physical castrations were largely premeditated, with an average of 18 years from the time that an individual developed interest in being a eunuch to the time of their actual castration. We identified four factors that may promote castration ideations: (i) abuse sustained during childhood, including parental threats of castration; (ii) homosexuality; (iii) exposure to animal castration during youth; and (iv) religious condemnation of sexuality. Chemical eunuchs were more likely to have sought castration for libido control or to advance transition from male to female (P Body Integrity Identity Disorder and Gender Identity Disorders occur among those who self-identify as eunuch. We present evidence that the majority of self-identified voluntary eunuchs are not male-to-female transsexuals. Whereas the majority identify as male, many view themselves as in an alternate nonmale, nonfemale, gender space. We therefore suggest that male-to-eunuch is a valid transgender identity.

  3. The eunuchs of India: An endocrine eye opener

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjay Kalra

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available There are established guidelines for the endocrine and overall treatment of transsexual persons. These guidelines provide information about the optimal endocrine management of male-to-female and female-to-male transsexual persons. India has a large community of eunuchs, also known as hijras, who are men with gender identity disorders. While this community has been studied from a social and medical point of new, no endocrine work has been done in them. This exploratory article tries to discuss the endocrine status, health, and management of the eunuchs.

  4. EUNUCHS IN THE BIBLE 1. INTRODUCTION

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    plete discussion of the particular socio-cultural role played by eunuchs in antiquity, as ... is described by the words “he was in the house of the king”. The. Vulgate ... Mesopotamian countries (where human castration probably origi- nated; Hug ...

  5. Oral health-related knowledge, attitude and practices among eunuchs (hijras residing in Bhopal City, Madhya Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudhir Hongal

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The current cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the oral health-related knowledge, attitude and practices among eunuchs (hijras residing in Bhopal city, Madhya Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: Based on a convenient non-probability snow ball sampling technique, all the self-identified eunuchs residing in the city of Bhopal who were present at the time of study and who fulfilled the selection criteria were approached. A cross section of the general population was also surveyed. An interviewer-based, predesigned, structured, close-ended 18-item questionnaire that had been designed based on the primary objective of the study was used. All the obtained data were analyzed using software, Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. Results: According to 188 (86.2% males, 187 (87.4% females and 168 (81.2% eunuchs, good oral health can improve the general health. Most of the study participants including 211 (98.6% females, 210 (96.3% males and 205 (99% eunuchs use either tooth paste or tooth powder to clean their teeth. While, a majority of eunuchs, i.e., 113 (54.6%, were having habit of chewing smokeless tobacco containing products such as betel nut, betel quid, gutkha, etc., The difference in use of tobacco products was statistically significant. Conclusion: The information presented in this study adds to our understanding of the common oral hygiene practices which are performed among eunuch population. Efforts to increase the awareness of oral effects of tobacco use and to eliminate the habit are needed to improve oral and general health of this population.

  6. THE ANDREIOS EUNUCH-COMMANDER NARSES: SIGN OF A DECOUPLING OF MARTIAL VIRTUES AND MASCULINITY IN THE EARLY BYZANTINE EMPIRE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Edward Stewart

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The sixth-century Byzantine general Narses (478-573 has long earned historians’ respect. This acclaim is deserved since his major victories over the Goths in 552 and versus the Franks and Alamanni in 554, helped to secure the Emperor Justinian I’s (ruled 527-565 reconquest of Italy. So too did Narses perform admirably for twelve years in his role as prefect of Italy. Of course, it has always been important to emphasize that Narses was a eunuch. Indeed, for many modern historians, Narses’ identity as a castrate is more important for study than his military deeds and political achievements that proved ephemeral. For some, the presence of a eunuch in such an essential military role indicates a turning away from codes of generalship based on traditional martial courage and manliness. This paper questions such a view. It suggests that Byzantium had a much more flexible notion of the gender status of eunuchs than some recent scholarship allows. Indeed, I will show that Narses fits into a continuing hegemony of traditional masculine values based on the supremacy of Byzantine men’s martial virtues.

  7. The Ethiopian eunuch in transit: A migrant theoretical perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zorodzai Dube

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Biblical scholars tend to see the Ethiopian eunuch and court official through the eyes of Philip the evangelist, which is also what the author of the text wants us to do. However, the narrative about the Ethiopian court official is also a story about the experiences of an ancient traveller, and as such, the story invokes the tales of contemporary migrants. In this study, I explore how the story about a sojourning court official intersects with contemporary immigration and identity issues. My study demonstrates how the travelling court official can be used as a figure to think with and how his story mirrors challenges faced by migrant workers today.

  8. The eunuch phenomenon: adaptive evolution of genital emasculation in sexually dimorphic spiders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuntner, Matjaž; Agnarsson, Ingi; Li, Daiqin

    2015-02-01

    Under natural and sexual selection traits often evolve that secure paternity or maternity through self-sacrifice to predators, rivals, offspring, or partners. Emasculation-males removing their genitals-is an unusual example of such behaviours. Known only in insects and spiders, the phenomenon's adaptiveness is difficult to explain, yet its repeated origins and association with sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual cannibalism suggest an adaptive significance. In spiders, emasculation of paired male sperm-transferring organs - secondary genitals - (hereafter, palps), results in 'eunuchs'. This behaviour has been hypothesized to be adaptive because (i) males plug female genitals with their severed palps (plugging hypothesis), (ii) males remove their palps to become better fighters in male-male contests (better-fighter hypothesis), perhaps reaching higher agility due to reduced total body mass (gloves-off hypothesis), and (iii) males achieve prolonged sperm transfer through severed genitals (remote-copulation hypothesis). Prior research has provided evidence in support of these hypotheses in some orb-weaving spiders but these explanations are far from general. Seeking broad macroevolutionary patterns of spider emasculation, we review the known occurrences, weigh the evidence in support of the hypotheses in each known case, and redefine more precisely the particular cases of emasculation depending on its timing in relation to maturation and mating: 'pre-maturation', 'mating', and 'post-mating'. We use a genus-level spider phylogeny to explore emasculation evolution and to investigate potential evolutionary linkage between emasculation, SSD, lesser genital damage (embolic breakage), and sexual cannibalism (females consuming their mates). We find a complex pattern of spider emasculation evolution, all cases confined to Araneoidea: emasculation evolved at least five and up to 11 times, was lost at least four times, and became further modified at least once. We also find

  9. The ‘Unsaid’ in Terence’s Eunuch: An Attempt at a Pragmatic Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janja Žmavc

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a pragmatics-based analysis of passages from Terence’s comedy The Eunuch – an analysis based on implication theory, on Grice’s implicature theory, and on Austin and Searle’s speech act theory. Contemporary research into the language of Roman comedy, using contemporary methods of linguistics and of linguistic pragmatics, has been relatively rare; moreover, it has concentrated on the elements of colloquial language, such as abstract expressions, word order, Greek loan-words, or the conversation elements of the spoken passages (Babič, Bagordo, Karaxis, etc.. The phenomenon of implicitness, on the other hand, has not been examined in its own right. The fundamental insight of this study is that ancient comedy strategically produces meaning by exploiting the fact that one can never be fully explicit in language. A closer look at the main characteristics of Roman comedy reveals that they form one of the basic conditions for the generation of meaning, and that their nature is closely linked to implicitness in language use. Linguistic pragmatics defines implied meaning as what can be meant or communicated in addition to what we literally say, with the aid of special tools for linking the explicit content to the unexpressed but relevant background information. The reference frame by which the unsaid in Roman comedy can be explained or made explicit includes conventions of the stage, drama and language, as well as the social and cultural characteristics of the period in which this comedy emerged, flourished, and declined. Linking the explicit content to the relevant background information, or communicating the implied meaning, is enabled by conventionalised linguistic means, the so-called types of implicit meaning, which may be divided into several categories (presuppositions, implicatures, speech acts. Speech act theory treats semantic processes from the aspect of structure, while implicature theory emphasises their

  10. De burger als eunuch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.C.F. van Sas

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available 1800N.C.F. van Sas'1800. Blueprints for a society' argues the case for the primacy of culture in late 18th-century Dutch society. Drawing upon the work of a generation of dix-huitiémistes it presents an impressive and highly readable overview of the Dutch Enlightenment. Unfortunately, this cultural vantage-point also results in a rather one-sided, if not positively unhistorical reading of this period which — by all accounts so far — was highly charged with politics. In fact, an opportunity is missed to connect the Enlightened civil society of the 1760s and 1770s with the revolutionary developments of the 1780s and 1790s.

  11. An Evaluation of Dental Prosthetic Status and Prosthetic Needs ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    present cross‑sectional study aimed to evaluate the dental prosthetic status and prosthetic needs among eunuchs .... who consented to become part of the study guided us to the .... to the reason that our study population comprised of adults with low SES. ... Arora M, Schwarz E, Sivaneswaran S, Banks E. Cigarette smoking.

  12. Early encounters between China and Africa: myth or moment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    China did indeed have a highly advanced ship building capacity long before the dawn of the West's global age of sail, and archaeological evidence bears testimony to the sophistication of Chinese maritime technology. The article also focuses on the voyages of the legendary Grand Eunuch , Admiral Cheng Ho, undertaken ...

  13. Eunuchs in the Bible | Retief | Acta Theologica

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Acta Theologica. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 26, No 2 (2006) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Download this PDF file. The PDF file you selected should load here if ...

  14. Genetic disorders of the anterior pituitary gland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teller, W M

    1985-01-01

    This survey deals with disorders caused by genetically disturbed function of the anterior pituitary gland. Genetic Dwarfism may be caused by isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) or panpituitary diseases, such as congenital absence of the pituitary or familial panhypopituitarism. Genetic disturbances of isolated pituitary hormone secretion without dwarfism may occur as isolated gonadotropin deficiency (IGD), isolated luteinizing hormone deficiency ("fertile eunuch"), Kallmann syndrome (olfactogenital dysplasia), isolated thyrotropin deficiency (ITD) and isolated corticotropin deficiency (ICD). Pituitary dysfunction may also be associated with other genetic disease entities.

  15. Approches sur l’historiographie du genre à Byzance

    OpenAIRE

    Georges Sidéris

    2008-01-01

    Les études de genre occupent une place importante dans les études byzantines. Le rôle des femmes, des eunuques, des hommes en tant que mâles, mais aussi de la domination masculine dans la société byzantine est maintenant bien reconnu. Ces études reflètent la diversité et la spécificité de la société byzantine.Gender Studies hold an important place in Byzantine Studies. Roles of women and eunuchs as well as masculinity and male domination in the Byzantine society are now well recognized. Gende...

  16. A passion for castration: characterizing men who are fascinated with castration, but have not been castrated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Lesley F; Brett, Michelle A; Johnson, Thomas W; Wassersug, Richard J

    2008-07-01

    A number of men have extreme castration ideations. Many only fantasize about castration; others actualize their fantasies. We wish to identify factors that distinguish those who merely fantasize about being castrated from those who are at the greatest risk of genital mutilation. Seven hundred thirty-one individuals, who were not castrated, responded to a survey posted on http://www.eunuch.org. We compared the responses of these "wannabes" to those of 92 men who were voluntarily castrated and responded to a companion survey. Main Outcome Measures. Respondents answered the questionnaire items relating to demographics, origin of interest in castration, and ambition toward eunuchdom. Two categories of wannabes emerged. A large proportion ( approximately 40%) of wannabes' interest in castration was singularly of a fetishistic nature, and these men appeared to be at a relatively low risk of irreversible genital mutilation. Approximately 20% of the men, however, appeared to be at great risk of genital mutilation. They showed a greater desire to reduce libido, change their genital appearance, transition out of male, and prevent sexually offensive behavior. Nineteen percent of all wannabes have attempted self-castration, yet only 10% have sought medical assistance. We identify several motivating factors for extreme castration ideations and provide a classification for reasons why some males desire orchiectomies. Castration ideations fall under several categories of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. (DSM-IV), most notably a Gender Identity Disorder other than male-to-female (MtF) transsexual (i.e., male-to-eunuch) and a Body Identity Integrity Disorder. Physicians need to be aware of males who have strong desires for emasculation without a traditional MtF transsexual identity.

  17. Approches sur l’historiographie du genre à Byzance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georges Sidéris

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Les études de genre occupent une place importante dans les études byzantines. Le rôle des femmes, des eunuques, des hommes en tant que mâles, mais aussi de la domination masculine dans la société byzantine est maintenant bien reconnu. Ces études reflètent la diversité et la spécificité de la société byzantine.Gender Studies hold an important place in Byzantine Studies. Roles of women and eunuchs as well as masculinity and male domination in the Byzantine society are now well recognized. Gender studies in Byzantium do reflect the diversity and the specificity of this society.

  18. Eusociality in history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betzig, Laura

    2014-03-01

    For more than 100,000 years, H. sapiens lived as foragers, in small family groups with low reproductive variance. A minority of men were able to father children by two or three women; and a majority of men and women were able to breed. But after the origin of farming around 10,000 years ago, reproductive variance increased. In civilizations which began in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China, and then moved on to Greece and Rome, kings collected thousands of women, whose children were supported and guarded by thousands of eunuchs. Just a few hundred years ago, that trend reversed. Obligate sterility ended, and reproductive variance declined. For H. sapiens, as for other organisms, eusociality seems to be an effect of ecological constraints. Civilizations rose up in lake and river valleys, hemmed in by mountains and deserts. Egalitarianism became an option after empty habitats opened up.

  19. The Myth of Danaë in El curioso impertinente: Cervantes, Terence and Titian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederick A. de Armas

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the classical myths that are present in Cervantes’ interpolated tale of El curioso impertinente, the rape of Danaë, has not receive much critical attention.. The many visual images in the cervantine tale recall the use of ekphrasis to portray the myth in Terence’s Eunuch, where the painting is one of the causes of Pánfila’s rape. The cervantine tale evokes the controversy triggered by the ancient play, starting with Saint Augustine and continuing into the Spanish Golden Age, with writers such as Juan de Mariana and Juan de Pineda. This study of Terence’s comedy along with the painting of Danae, sent by Titian to Philip II, serves to the underline the structural and thematic importance of the myth in Cervantes’ tale. Through the story of Danaë, Cervantes enters into the debate on the impact of the visual arts at the time of the Counterreformation.

  20. The longevity of gerontologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, J T

    1975-05-01

    The forces of mortality are the prime determinants of longevity. Longevity is a basic consideration of gerontology and includes the life expectancy of the species, the average expectancy of survival at birth, and the average of lifespan. In the history of the study of old age, for which the modern period began about 1930, there are no reports of the average lifespan for the students of aging. A survey revealed that the average lifespan of 28 special groups (15,000 individuals) was 68 years; this included an average of 68.01 years for 394 gerontologists during the same eras. These figures are comparable because the attainment of a particular status in a profession or vocation is evidence of survival to maturity. Comparison could not be made with data for the general population whose vital statistics begin at birth. The average duration of life for men whose work in part or in whole prior to the 20th century was in gerontology falls midway between the high level of 77 years for classical Greek authors and the low level of 51 years for revolutionary statesmen, and exactly between the levels of life duration for eunuchs and physical and medical scientists.

  1. Androgens and alopecia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Keith D

    2002-12-30

    Androgens have profound effects on scalp and body hair in humans. Scalp hair grows constitutively in the absence of androgens, while body hair growth is dependent on the action of androgens. Androgenetic alopecia, referred to as male pattern hair loss (MPHL) in men and female pattern hair loss (FPHL) in women, is due to the progressive miniaturization of scalp hair. Observations in both eunuchs, who have low levels of testicular androgens, and males with genetic 5alpha-reductase (5alphaR) deficiency, who have low levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), implicate DHT as a key androgen in the pathogenesis of MPHL in men. The development of finasteride, a type 2-selective 5alphaR inhibitor, further advanced our understanding of the role of DHT in the pathophysiology of scalp alopecia. Controlled clinical trials with finasteride demonstrated improvements in scalp hair growth in treated men associated with reductions in scalp DHT content, and a trend towards reversal of scalp hair miniaturization was evident by histopathologic evaluation of scalp biopsies. In contrast to its beneficial effects in men, finasteride did not improve hair growth in postmenopausal women with FPHL. Histopathological evaluation of scalp biopsies confirmed that finasteride treatment produced no benefit on scalp hair in these women. These findings suggest that MPHL and FPHL are distinct clinical entities, with disparate pathophysiologies. Studies that elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which androgens regulate hair growth would provide greater understanding of these differences. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.

  2. Infertility, impotence, and emasculation - psychosocial contexts for abandoning reproduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Wibowo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available From a Darwinian perspective we live to reproduce, but in various situations genetic males elect not to reproduce by choosing medical treatments leading to infertility, impotence, and, in the extreme, emasculation. For many men, infertility can be psychologically distressing. However, for certain genetic males, being infertile may improve their quality of life. Examples include (1 men who seek vasectomy, (2 individuals with Gender Dysphoria (e.g., transwomen, and modern day voluntary eunuchs, (3 most gay men, and (4 men treated for testicular and prostate cancer. Men who desire vasectomy typically have a Darwinian fitness W >1 at the time of their vasectomies; i.e., after they have their desired number of offspring or consider themselves past an age for parenting newborns. In contrast, prostate and testicular cancer patients, along with individuals with extreme Gender Dysphoria, do not necessarily seek to be sterile, but accept it as an unavoidable consequence of the treatment for their condition undertaken for survival (in case of cancer patients or to achieve a better quality of life (for those with Gender Dysphoria. Most gay men do not father children, but they may play an avuncular role, providing for their siblings′ offspring′s welfare, thus improving their inclusive fitness through kin selection. In a strictly Darwinian model, the primary motivation for all individuals is to reproduce, but there are many situations for men to remove themselves from the breeding populations because they have achieved a fitness W ≥1, or have stronger medical or psychological needs that preclude remaining fertile.

  3. Gender Preference in the Sexual Attractions, Fantasies, and Relationships of Voluntarily Castrated Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handy, Ariel B; Jackowich, Robyn A; Wibowo, Erik; Johnson, Thomas Wayne; Wassersug, Richard J

    2016-03-01

    Some men seek castration outside a clear medical need. This study explored how their sexuality changed after castration. To explore changes in preferred gender(s) of sexual attraction, fantasy, and relationships in voluntarily castrated men with or without gonadal hormone therapy. A questionnaire was posted at http://www.eunuch.org that yielded data on men who had been voluntarily castrated physically (n = 198) or chemically (n = 96). Respondents were asked to report retrospectively on their sexuality, including their sexual activity and which gender(s) they were sexually attracted to, fantasized about, or had sexual relations with 6 months to 1 year before and after castration. A substantial proportion of men remained sexually active after castration; 37% had sex at least several times per week. Most respondents did not report a change in preferred gender(s) of attraction (65%, n = 181), fantasies (62%, n = 169), or sexual relationships (66%, n = 163), although approximately 20% to 30% of respondents did report such changes and 8% to 11% became non-sexual after castration. Respondents who were attracted to and fantasized about "only men" or who had sexual relationship with "only women" before castration were the least likely to report a change subsequent to castration. Respondents who were taking neither supplemental testosterone nor estrogen were more likely to report (i) becoming attracted to no one, (ii) fantasizing about no one, and (iii) becoming sexually inactive. Sexual changes in voluntarily castrated men vary and can be influenced by various factors including the use of supplemental testosterone or estrogen therapy. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. The vices of emperor Constans I in the fourth century histories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milivojević Uroš

    2008-01-01

    Augustus' hunting session. Although vivid and informative, the real weight of these four accounts could be estimated only through comparison with the other, real or traditional, dreadful emperors described by the four authors. For example, the youthful age was important component of the bad reigns of Otho, Domitian and Gallienus, as Victor emphasizes. Eutropius' pattern of the promising start of the Emperor's reign and his later disgrace was similarly used in his assessment of Gallienus and Constantine the Great. According to Pseudo-Victor, Valentinian I could be estimated as the perfect prince if there had not been his poor selection of advisers. Constans' homosexual leaning towards young barbarian hostages could be observed from the two points. The first would be the remark that these barbarians were dubious companions for the Roman emperors, just as some of the rulers were blacklisted for their, real or assumptive, sympathy and meekness for women, eunuchs and courtiers. Gratian and Theodosius I were specially ill-famed for their affinity for Alan mercenaries and Gothic refugees respectively. On the other hand, slandered Licinius was praised for his strength in cultivating his courtiers and eunuchs. In relation to Constans' homosexuality, it is essential to note that one of the fundamental keys to the bad emperor's character was his breach of sexual taboos. In the inaccurate 4th century tradition Caracalla was known for his marriage with his stepmother, or Gallienus for his barter with Marcomanic king, in which he allegedly traded part of Pannonia Superior for the barbarian concubine. Explicitly, homosexuality was ascribed to Domitian, Carinus and Maximian Herculius. Finally, although the remarks on Constans' unpopularity and death were taken from the earliest preserved sources, it is clear that only a decade after his demise, the tradition, framed in already existing negative pattern, was established. This version of the events, probably maintained in lost

  5. Failure to Use and Sustain Male Condom Usage: Lessons Learned from a Prospective Study among Men Attending STI Clinic in Pune, India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seema Sahay

    Full Text Available Sustained or consistent use of condoms by men remains a challenge. A study was carried out to identify factors associated with failure to use condoms consistently by men attending STD clinics in Pune, India.Among 14137 STI clinic attendees, 8360 HIV sero-negative men were enrolled in a cohort study. The changes in condom usage behavior were studied among 1284 men who returned for first scheduled quarterly follow up, 309 reported consistent condom use at the time of enrollment in the cohort. Data pertaining to heterosexual men practicing high risk behavior were analyzed to identify factors associated with change in condom use behavior using logistic regression model. Demographic, behavioral and biological factors observed to be associated with condom use were fitted in five Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios and their 95% confidence intervals to identify independent predictors of failure to sustain condom use behavior.The univariate analysis showed that men who were 30 years or older in age (p = 0.002 and those who did not have contact female sex worker (FSW were more likely to fail to sustain consistent condom use. However both these factors did not show significant association in multivariable analysis. Marital status and contact with Hijra (eunuch in lifetime were associated with failure to change in their condom use behavior [AOR 0.33 (CI 0.13-0.82; p = 0.017]. During the follow up of 2 years, 61 events (15.5 per 100 person years, 95% CI 12.3-19.5 years of 'failure of condom use' were recorded despite counseling. Older age, contact with non CSW partner and presence of genital ulcer disease / discharge syndrome were significant predictors of failure to sustain condom use.Married monogamous older men, who report contact with sex worker and present with genital ulcer disease are at risk of failure to use condom after first exposure to voluntary HIV counseling and testing. This is a scenario of primary prevention program

  6. Interaction involving the thymus and the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, immunomodulation by hormones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Ljiljana 2

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Perfectly projected and impeccably created, the endocrine system precisely regulates the most delicate immune processes. The immune and neuroendocrine systems are two essential physiological components of mammalian organisms important for protection from the infection and disease on one hand, and on the other, for regulation of metabolism and other physiological activities; namely, the evidence has been found indicating that there is active and dynamic collaboration of these systems in the execution of their designated functions [1, 2,4]. These interactions occur at many stages of embryonic and neonatal development, and they are a continual part of normal homeostatic balance necessary to preserve health. There is communication between neuroendocrine and immune system via cytokines, neurotransmitters and peptide hormones which act, in both systems, through the same receptor molecules (Scheme 1. Many investigators have reported the increased thymic weight in experimental animals due to both castration and adrenalectomy [4]. The discovery from 1898 revealing that thymus was enlarged in castrated rabbits has been considered the embryo of hybrid medical discipline, i.e. the immunoendocrinology [1]. In the actual literature, at least in that available to us, it has not been noted that the appearance of the eunuchs, i.e. the castrates, stimulated the analytical approach to this phenomenon. Endocrine influences appear to be a part of bidirectional circuitry, namely, thymic hormones also regulate the release of hormones from the pituitary gland. Physiologically, thymus is under neuroendocrine control. It is apparent that the circulating levels of distinct peptide hormones are necessary to maintain a series of biological functions related both to micro environmental and lymphoid cells of the organ. The neuroendocrine control of the thymus appears to be extremely complex, with apparent presence of complete intrathymic biological circuitry involving the