BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global health issue because it is widespread and persistent and can cause serious liver diseases. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to estimate HCV prevalence in women from the general population in different geographical areas worldwide and to assess the potential role of sexual behaviour in the virus transmission. STUDY DESIG...

Sperm competition is a strong force on the evolution of mating behaviour of animals, particularly birds. In monogamous birds extrapair behaviour is one main source of variation in the reproductive success of males, which has caused the evolution of paternity guards as well as strategies by females to increase the genetic quality of their descendants. We investigated the importance of sperm comp...

Male South Indian gerbils (T. indica cuvieri), both adults and weanlings, were olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) and changes in male reproductive behaviour were assessed. Consequent to OBX, majority of the adult males failed to ejaculate, and courtship behaviour has also been considerably reduced. All OBX weanlings were rendered incapable of ejaculation. However, maturational parameters, and organ ...

Thalassaemia is the most common monogenic autosomal hereditary disease worldwide. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study looked at the reproductive behaviour of 156 mothers of children affected with beta-thalassaemia major (Cooley anaemia) in Fars province, southern Islamic Republic of Iran. Regardless of the number of affected children, the parents of children with Cooley anaemia had a...

This paper examines, theoretically and empirically, the impact of reproductive externalities on fertility behaviour in Kenya. We examine this issue by identifying structural forms of social interaction operating across individuals belonging to di¤erent ethnic groups on the number of children ever born. We use the 1998 Demographic and Health Survey data on 5994 women from Kenya to examine whethe...

Chemically mediated sexual communication in humans has been largely neglected due to its non-conscious and relatively concealed nature. However, menstrual cycle synchronisation, puberty onset in young pre-pubertal girls exposed to their stepfather, and consanguinity avoidance suggest a function in the physiological regulation of sexual and reproductive behaviour in humans. These phenomena are r...

BACKGROUND Addressing reproductive health issues of women is now on the global social agenda in the new millennium. Maternal mortality has long been the only indicator of women's health even though reproductive morbidity occurs far more frequently and seriously affects women's lives. In this paper, an attempt was made to assess the magnitude of self reported gynaecological morbidity unrelated t...

We analysed digital still photographs of two interacting free-living male zebra sharks. The recorded behaviours are similar in appearance to some male – female courtship and mating patterns in elasmobranchs and several of the positions are similar to or resemble reproductive behaviours known from other species. We discuss two possible hypotheses that may explain the interaction, sexual behaviou...

Androgens influence many physiological processes in male vertebrates and have been linked to variation in aggression and reproductive behaviour in many species. This study examined relations between social behaviour and androgens excreted by adult male spotted hyaenas. In this species, males rarely direct reproductive aggression towards other males, but they actively court females that are soci...