Introdução: A remoção dos pelos pubianos de forma parcial ou total é feita atualmente em larga escala pelas mulheres, uma prática que pode ter repercussões clínicas para a saúde genital e sexual. A tendência estética, a crença na melhoria da higiene genital ou a preferência masculina parecem influenciar essa prática. No entanto, existem poucos estudos sobre essa temática. Objetivos: Avaliar a preferência masculina e feminina sobre a extensão da depilação genital na mulher, bem como verificar se a extensão da depilação genital feminina tem associação com sintomas genitais e práticas sexuais. Métodos: Estudo transversal em que foram convidados homens e mulheres maiores de 18 anos, através da divulgação no blog oficial do Ambulatório de Estudos em Sexualidade Humana, para responderem anonimamente ao formulário on-line autoaplicável \"Formulário - Preferência sobre a Depilação Genital Feminina\", de autoria dos pesquisadores. Os dados obtidos foram acessados através da tabela criada com as respostas pela ferramenta Google Drive e armazenados em um banco de dados criado com auxílio do software Microsoft Excel 360. As análises foram feitas no programa SAS versão 9.3 e tabelas de contingência foram construídas para verificar a distribuição entre as variáveis. Análise estatística univariada foi realizada com o teste qui-quadrado de Pearson, e foram consideradas significativas as diferenças para p < 0,05. Resultados: Ao se aplicar os critérios de inclusão e exclusão deste estudo, obteve-se 69.920 sujeitos (17.133 homens e 52.787 mulheres). A média de idade dos sujeitos foi de 31,9 anos entre os homens e 28,5 entre as mulheres. A maioria das mulheres (64,3%) e dos homens (62,2%) preferiram a genitália feminina completamente depilada. Em mulheres e homens foi observado tendência de redução da preferência pela depilação completa e aumento da preferência pela parcial juntamente com o aumento da idade e nível de escolaridade. Entre as mulheres, 65% relataram sentir prurido, vermelhidão, pelo encravado e/ou outro sintoma clínico após a depilação. A maioria das mulheres afirmaram se depilar em casa (55,8%), 44,4% delas utilizaram cera quente e 40,1% utilizaram lâmina de barbear. Grande parte das mulheres (44,7%) e dos homens (50,1%) alegaram ter frequência sexual de 2 a 3 vezes por semana e a porcentagem de sujeitos que preferiram a remoção completa aumentou com o aumento da frequência sexual. Em todas as regiões do Brasil a depilação genital total foi preferida. Conclusão: Mulheres e homens brasileiros, em geral, preferem a genitália feminina completamente depilada, indicando que, aparentemente, a difusão da depilação completa genital na mulher é também por uma demanda do sexo masculino. Essa preferência é mais acentuada em indivíduos mais jovens. A remoção total dos pelos da genitália feminina é mais preferida por mulheres e homens com maior frequência sexual, assim como por mulheres que estão mais satisfeitas com a aparência de seus órgãos genitais e sentem desejo sexual mais frequentemente. Não foi observada a associação entre a extensão da depilação genital feminina e a presença de sintomas genitais. / Introduction: The partial or complete removal of pubic hair is currently done largely by women, a practice that may have clinical implications for genital and sexual health. The aesthetic trend, the belief in improving genital hygiene or male preference seem to influence this practice. However, there are few studies on this topic. Aims: To assess male and female preferences on the degree of pubic hair removal in women and to verify if the degree of female genital hair removal is associated with genital symptoms and sexual practices. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which men and women over 18 years were invited by the official blog of the Clinic for Human Sexuality Research, to respond anonymously to the online and self-administered form \"Preference on Female Genital Hair Removal\", authored by the researchers. The data were accessed through a table created with the answers by the Google Drive tool and stored in a database created with the help of Microsoft Excel 360. The analyses were performed in SAS version 9.3 program and contingency tables were built to verify the distribution of the variables. Univariate statistical analysis was performed using Pearson\'s chisquared test and differences at p < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study, it was obtained 69,920 subjects (17,133 men and 52,787 women). The mean age of subjects was 31.9 years among men and 28.5 among women. Most women (64.3%) and men (62.2%) preferred the female genitalia completely depilated. In women and men, it was observed a reduction trend in the preference for complete pubic hair removal and increasing trend in the preference for partial pubic hair removal along with increasing age and education level. Among women, 65% reported feeling itching, redness, ingrown hair and/or other clinical symptoms after depilation. Most women reported to depilate at home (55.8%), 44.4% of them used hot wax and 40.1% used a razor blade. Most women (44.7%) and men (50.1%) claimed to have a sexual frequency of 2 to 3 times per week and the percentage of subjects who preferred the complete removal increased with increased sexual frequency. In all regions of Brazil, total pubic hair removal was preferred. Conclusion: Brazilian women and men generally prefer the female genitalia completely depilated, indicating that, apparently, the spread of genital complete hair removal in women is also by a male demand. This preference is more pronounced in younger subjects. The total hair removal of the female genitalia is the most preferred by women and men with increased sexual frequency, as well as women who are more satisfied with the appearance of their genitals and feel sexual desire more often. No association was observed between the degree of the female genital hair removal and the presence of genital symptoms.

Introdução: A remoção dos pelos pubianos de forma parcial ou total é feita atualmente em larga escala pelas mulheres, uma prática que pode ter repercussões clínicas para a saúde genital e sexual. A tendência estética, a crença na melhoria da higiene genital ou a preferência masculina parecem influenciar essa prática. No entanto, existem poucos estudos sobre essa temática. Objetivos: Avaliar a preferência masculina e feminina sobre a extensão da depilação genital na mulher, bem como verificar se a extensão da depilação genital feminina tem associação com sintomas genitais e práticas sexuais. Métodos: Estudo transversal em que foram convidados homens e mulheres maiores de 18 anos, através da divulgação no blog oficial do Ambulatório de Estudos em Sexualidade Humana, para responderem anonimamente ao formulário on-line autoaplicável \"Formulário - Preferência sobre a Depilação Genital Feminina\", de autoria dos pesquisadores. Os dados obtidos foram acessados através da tabela criada com as respostas pela ferramenta Google Drive e armazenados em um banco de dados criado com auxílio do software Microsoft Excel 360. As análises foram feitas no programa SAS versão 9.3 e tabelas de contingência foram construídas para verificar a distribuição entre as variáveis. Análise estatística univariada foi realizada com o teste qui-quadrado de Pearson, e foram consideradas significativas as diferenças para p < 0,05. Resultados: Ao se aplicar os critérios de inclusão e exclusão deste estudo, obteve-se 69.920 sujeitos (17.133 homens e 52.787 mulheres). A média de idade dos sujeitos foi de 31,9 anos entre os homens e 28,5 entre as mulheres. A maioria das mulheres (64,3%) e dos homens (62,2%) preferiram a genitália feminina completamente depilada. Em mulheres e homens foi observado tendência de redução da preferência pela depilação completa e aumento da preferência pela parcial juntamente com o aumento da idade e nível de escolaridade. Entre as mulheres, 65% relataram sentir prurido, vermelhidão, pelo encravado e/ou outro sintoma clínico após a depilação. A maioria das mulheres afirmaram se depilar em casa (55,8%), 44,4% delas utilizaram cera quente e 40,1% utilizaram lâmina de barbear. Grande parte das mulheres (44,7%) e dos homens (50,1%) alegaram ter frequência sexual de 2 a 3 vezes por semana e a porcentagem de sujeitos que preferiram a remoção completa aumentou com o aumento da frequência sexual. Em todas as regiões do Brasil a depilação genital total foi preferida. Conclusão: Mulheres e homens brasileiros, em geral, preferem a genitália feminina completamente depilada, indicando que, aparentemente, a difusão da depilação completa genital na mulher é também por uma demanda do sexo masculino. Essa preferência é mais acentuada em indivíduos mais jovens. A remoção total dos pelos da genitália feminina é mais preferida por mulheres e homens com maior frequência sexual, assim como por mulheres que estão mais satisfeitas com a aparência de seus órgãos genitais e sentem desejo sexual mais frequentemente. Não foi observada a associação entre a extensão da depilação genital feminina e a presença de sintomas genitais. / Introduction: The partial or complete removal of pubic hair is currently done largely by women, a practice that may have clinical implications for genital and sexual health. The aesthetic trend, the belief in improving genital hygiene or male preference seem to influence this practice. However, there are few studies on this topic. Aims: To assess male and female preferences on the degree of pubic hair removal in women and to verify if the degree of female genital hair removal is associated with genital symptoms and sexual practices. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which men and women over 18 years were invited by the official blog of the Clinic for Human Sexuality Research, to respond anonymously to the online and self-administered form \"Preference on Female Genital Hair Removal\", authored by the researchers. The data were accessed through a table created with the answers by the Google Drive tool and stored in a database created with the help of Microsoft Excel 360. The analyses were performed in SAS version 9.3 program and contingency tables were built to verify the distribution of the variables. Univariate statistical analysis was performed using Pearson\'s chisquared test and differences at p < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this study, it was obtained 69,920 subjects (17,133 men and 52,787 women). The mean age of subjects was 31.9 years among men and 28.5 among women. Most women (64.3%) and men (62.2%) preferred the female genitalia completely depilated. In women and men, it was observed a reduction trend in the preference for complete pubic hair removal and increasing trend in the preference for partial pubic hair removal along with increasing age and education level. Among women, 65% reported feeling itching, redness, ingrown hair and/or other clinical symptoms after depilation. Most women reported to depilate at home (55.8%), 44.4% of them used hot wax and 40.1% used a razor blade. Most women (44.7%) and men (50.1%) claimed to have a sexual frequency of 2 to 3 times per week and the percentage of subjects who preferred the complete removal increased with increased sexual frequency. In all regions of Brazil, total pubic hair removal was preferred. Conclusion: Brazilian women and men generally prefer the female genitalia completely depilated, indicating that, apparently, the spread of genital complete hair removal in women is also by a male demand. This preference is more pronounced in younger subjects. The total hair removal of the female genitalia is the most preferred by women and men with increased sexual frequency, as well as women who are more satisfied with the appearance of their genitals and feel sexual desire more often. No association was observed between the degree of the female genital hair removal and the presence of genital symptoms.

Content: Sheepskin, a by-product of the meat industry, is then often processed to leather, primarily for the clothing industry. Where the tanneries are distant from the abattoirs and freezing works, the raw skins have to be transported long distances to be processed. In warm weather, there is the potential for putrefaction of the skins which then have to be disposed of at a cost. Depilation, the first step of leather processing, is designed to remove the wool from the skin without damaging it. Conventional depilation involves the use of strong alkali and sulfides, that are harmful to both the environment and the personnel carrying out the process due to the potential production of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic, flammable gas. To solve this problem, scientists have been looking to depilate skins using enzymes as these are environmentally friendly. Various enzymes, such as collagenase, keratinase, protease and lipase have been shown to be able to remove hair from skin, but unfortunately usually damage it. Furthermore, at present, they are not cost effective at an industrial level. We have found a simple solution, a derivative of a dairy by-product, that prevents putrefaction, preserving the skin for days at room temperature. In addition, it allows easy removal of the wool from the skin. Scanning electron microscopy showed there was no obvious damage to the surface of the depilated skin and that the wool is cleanly removed from the hair follicle. To assess any less visible damage that may have occurred as a result of soaking the skin, biochemical analyses were carried out to measure the changes to the amino acid composition, collagen crosslinks and proteoglycan concentrations of the depilated skins. Sheepskin depilated with this method was processed to leather and its physical properties such as tear, and tensile strength analysed. Culture dependent methods were used to isolate the microorganisms present in the solution after depilation, showed that only four main species were consistently found in the depilation fluid and on the skins. Metagenomic analysis, confirmed these findings and was used to follow the changes in the microbiome during the course of depilation. This presentation will describe the progress that has been made to understand the science behind these observations and compare the properties of skins depilated using this method with those depilated using the traditional beamhouse process. Take-Away: We are using a natural product to depilate sheepskin. The sheepskin is also preserved while depilation. Microscopy, chemical analyses, physical tests, and metagenomics analysis were done to understand the process.

Content: The leather industry has been challenged to reduce its environmental impact, for example, by producing eco-friendly products with inherent biodegradability using less polluting chemicals. Conventional depilation of hair and wool consumes a large amount of lime and sodium sulphide, which poses a serious waste disposal concern. Volatile organosulphur compounds remaining in leather products may provoke an unpleasant odour and be the cause of a deterioration in indoor air quality. Traditional leather production also generates tanned waste which cannot be readily degraded by microorganisms. LASRA research is guiding the application of biotechnology to help the New Zealand leather industry develop environmentally sustainable leather processes, replacing hazardous chemicals with microbial enzymes. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we have isolated and identified a number of indigenous bacteria from the leather industry environment which are being adopted to develop benign leather processing technologies. We discovered a strain of Stenotrophomonas spp. with significant and beneficial proteolytic activity in a tannery sludge. The identified strain not only displays collagenase activity but also the ability to reduce hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium, making it an ideal candidate for biodegradation of tanned waste. We also isolated and identified several Bacillus spp. strains from a biofilter used in a leather manufacturing plant which exhibited sulphide oxidation activity, which are being applied in bioremediation of volatile organosulphur compounds emitted by leather products. Recently we revisited the natural autolytic processes of degradation of untreated pelts to guide a natural depilation method without any need for additional chemical treatment. The characterisation of the bacteria isolated from the skins showed the alkaline protease production activity responsible for the observed nature unhairing. We found that in controlled experiments the wool could be removed completely from follicles after 2 days, without obvious damage and leathers could be processed with organoleptic and mechanical properties comparable to conventionally processed counterparts. With the mechanisms revealed, the natural depilation can be controlled to become more reliable and reproducible across a range of conditions. Our current work is focused on the development of solid-state fermentation using skin and leather waste as a culture medium to produce the required enzymes to make biological leather production practical and reproducible. Our research is aimed at enabling the NZ leather industry to produce highquality leather products with a much-reduced environmental footprint. Take-Away: 1. Indigenous bacteria have been isolated and identified from the leather industry environment by the application of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. 2. Biodegradation of tanned waste and bioremediation of volatile organosulphur compounds are being developed. 3. The mechanism of natural depilation has been revealed and the application of enzymatic depilation can become practicable by using solid-state fermentation.

Body depilation, or the reduction or removal of body hair, is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in depilation for several decades, this behavior has been documented only recently among men. Though originally thought to be widely practiced by women and only a small proportion of men, including athletes or bodybuilders, recent studies suggest that more men engage in body depilation than previously hypothesized. In fact, one recent study estimated the prevalence of men's body depilation at 83.7% which suggests that men are depilating at rates similar to women. Nevertheless sparse literature exists on the topic of depilation and its relationship to the overall body image of women and men, factors that predict depilation, and how the appearance of body hair may be related to body satisfaction, body image disturbance, and symptoms consistent with the clinical disorder known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Clinical issues thought to be associated with body depilation include physical injuries that put men and women at risk for infection as well as psychological risks including BDD. The goals of this research project were to: (a) further explore the depilation practices of both genders, (b) develop and evaluate three scales directly related to body depilation research, (c) identify predictors of depilation among both genders; (d) examine the correlates of depilation, (e) apply and further test theoretical models to explain depilation among both genders, and (e) examine demographic differences in body image disturbance and BDD while controlling for natural body hair growth. In support of the hypotheses, results indicated that men have greater levels of body hair growth at 12 discretely measured body sites compared to women, and that overall, body depilation prevalence is high (90.8%) among the individuals sampled. Depilation prevalence for women was 98.5% while 80.9% for men. Men were more likely to report depilation in the past, having ceased the behavior to allow natural hair growth to resume. Men were also significantly more likely to engage in hair reduction behaviors, e.g., trimming, rather than removing hair all together compared to women. Women reported a significantly greater frequency of injuries as a result of depilation, while men reported greater dissatisfaction with higher levels of chest or back hair growth. Instruments were developed and evaluated to measure depilation appearance comparison, depilation social norms, and body hair growth. In terms of predictors of depilation, appearance comparison was a predictor for both genders, while the drive for muscularity was a unique predictor for men. Theoretical paradigms associated with depilation included Social Comparison Theory, and in part, a belief that depilation is socially normative. Results also provided partial support for hypotheses related to gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual orientation differences in body image disturbance and BDD symptomatology. Overall, the results of this study provide support for the notion that body depilation is a key appearance and body image concern for both genders, though more so for men, but also suggest that more research is needed in order to better understand the role of the appearance of hair on the human body.

The processing of lambskins plays an important role in the New Zealand meat industry. The use of enzyme dewooling offers considerable advantages over the conventional depilation method which generates unpleasant working conditions and poses product quality risks when not properly handled. Prior to this work it was unclear from the literature why the practice of enzymatic depilation had not generally been adopted by industry. The aim of this work was to determine the problems associated with enzymatic depilation and provide a mechanistic understanding of the dewooling and damaging processes of enzyme depilation to provide underpinning knowledge for the design of a successful enzymatic depilation system. It was found that variability in depilation between different regions of the skin resulted in either over exposure of the skin to the enzyme regent and subsequent damage or underexposure of the skin to the enzyme reagent and incomplete depilation. Two approaches were taken in the work: Firstly an attempt was made for the first time to understand the variability in enzymatic depilation so that the variability observed in enzymatic depilation could potentially be reduced, thereby allowing a complete depilation process with no overexposure. Secondly an investigation was made for the first time to understand the cause of damage to skins during the process of enzymatic depilation so that the enzyme depilation process could potentially be modified to avoid damage. Experimental work characterising the time course of depilation and damage development was carried out and compared with the variation of physical properties across the skin. Correlations between depilation and physical properties such as thickness, grease content and follicle density were found. Reduction in the variability of these properties would likely improve the evenness of depilation but would not reduce it enough to eliminate damage due to over exposure. A range of techniques including: immunohistology, 2-dimensional electrophoresis, matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation, and atomic force microscopy were used to probe the structural and biochemical mechanism of enzyme depilation and damage. In this way it was found that the removal of minor collagen components were the likely cause of damage observed. In particular the removal of collagen VI was associated with a disruption of the smooth mesh of fine collagen fibres observed at the surface of the leather. The key requirement identified for a successful enzyme depilation system was the use of a broad spectrum protease which has no activity against collagen VI. The means to select a protease with these attributes was also developed by adopting a micro depilation assay incorporating immunohistology. This knowledge will enable the future development of non damaging enzyme depilatory reagents that could revolutionise the industry.