bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Monthly distribution of menarche among schoolgirls from a municipality in Southeastern Brazil
Authors: Tavares Carlos H.F. , Barbieri Marco A. , Bettiol Heloisa , Barbieri Marisa R. , De Souza Luiz 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe studied the monthly distribution of menarche among schoolgirls from Barrinha, Brazil, a municipality of rural characteristics in the process of transition to urbanization, economically dependent on sugar cane culture and processing. The association between season of the year, month of the year, and birth month and the occurrence of menarche was evaluated. The schoolgirls who provided the date of menarche (month and year) by the recall method and who had menarche up to 36 months before the interview were selected for analysis (460 girls). The correlations between month of occurrence of menarche and month of birth and between menarche and seasons of the year were determined by the chi‐square test and the mean monthly ages at menarche were compared by Student's t‐test, with a significance level of 0.05. There was a correlation between month of birth and month at menarche, with a peak of occurrence of menarche in December not affected by the menstruating patterns of maturation, but no correlation between menarche and seasons of the year. The difference between mean age at menarche in December (spring–summer transition) and in June (autumn–winter transition) was not significant. Mean age at menarche during the month following school vacations was lower. We conclude that situations of stress–relaxation transition, such as end of the school year, beginning of school vacation, and, perhaps most important, the socioeconomic factor—the end of the sugar cane harvest, when rural workers receive their final payments—favor the occurrence of the peak of menarche in December. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:17–23, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Prevalence of eight molecular markers associated with thrombotic diseases in six Amerindian tribes and two African groups of Costa Rica
Authors: Herrmann Falko H. , Salazar‐Sánchez Lizbeth , Schuster Gudrun , Jiménez‐Arce Gerardo , Grimm Rita , Gomez Xinia , Chavez Mario , Wulff Karin , Schröder Winnie 
Published: December 2003

AbstractIndividuals belonging to six different Amerindian tribes and two African groups of Costa Rica were genotyped for factor V Leiden (FV), factor V haplotype HR2 (FV HR2), Factor II 20210G>A (FII), the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), factor VII polymorphisms (FVII IVS7, FVII R353Q), factor XIII (FXIII V34L), and the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the gene of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Clear differences in the prevalence were found and are first reported. The prevalence of some of the established genetic risk factors was low in Amerindians of Costa Rica (ACE) or even absent (FVL, FII), and others (MTHFR, FVHR2) had an extremely high prevalence. People of African origin carried very rare FVL or FII polymorphisms, but the DD genotype of ACE is the highest reported. Concerning the protective factors, the QQ genotype of FVII R353Q was absent in Amerindians, but the protective 7/7 genotype of FVII IVS7 frequently found. Novel alleles of FVII IVS7 (4, 8, and 9 monomers) were found. Intertribal heterogeneity was observed that may reflect the evolutionary history of these tribal groups and their admixture with other populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:82–86, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Duffy blood group genotyping in French Basques using polymerase chain reaction with allele‐specific primers (PCR‐ASP)
Authors: Bauduer Frédéric , Touinssi Mhammed , Degioanni Anna , Leroux Stéphane , Dutour Olivier , Ducout Louis , De Micco Philippe , Chiaroni Jacques 
Published: December 2003

AbstractBlood group antigens such as Duffy represent interesting models for population genetics studies. The distribution of the Duffy blood group was determined using PCR in a sample of Basque (n = 126) and non‐Basque (n = 110) patients from the general hospital of the French Basque Country. The frequency of FY*A allele was significantly lower among autochthonous French Basques (P < 0.001). This result, obtained for the first time by PCR analysis in this population, was within the range of previous historical studies in various Basque subpopulations using traditional hemagglutination methods. When compared with European data, our Basque sample demonstrated the lowest FY*A/FY*B ratio, this fact confirming hemotypology data published before the molecular biology era. Our results with FY*X were quite similar to those reported in European populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:78–81, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A new protocol for evaluating putative causes for multiple variables in a spatial setting, illustrated by its application to European cancer rates
Authors: Sokal Robert R. , Oden Neal L. , Rosenberg Michael S. , Thomson Barbara A. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe introduce a statistical protocol for analyzing spatially varying data, including putative explanatory variables. The procedures comprise preliminary spatial autocorrelation analysis (from an earlier study), path analysis, clustering of the resulting set of path diagrams, ordination of these diagrams, and confirmatory tests against extrinsic information. To illustrate the application of these methods, we present incidence and mortality rates of 31 organ‐ and sex‐specific cancers in Europe; these rates vary markedly with geography and type of cancer. Additionally, we investigated three factors (ethnohistory, genetics, and geography) putatively affecting these rates. The five variables were correlated separately for the 31 cancers over European reporting stations. We analyzed the correlations by path analysis, k‐means clustering, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling; coefficients of the 31 path diagrams modeling the correlations vary substantially. To simplify interpretation, we grouped the diagrams into five clusters, for which we describe the differential effects of the three putative causes on incidence and mortality. When scaled, the path coefficients intergrade without marked gaps between clusters. Ethnic differences make for differences in cancer rates, even when the populations tested are ancient and complex mixtures. Path analysis usefully decomposes a structural model involving effects and putative causes, and estimates the magnitude of the model's components. Smooth intergradation of the path coefficients suggests the putative causes are the results of multiple forces. Despite this continuity of the path diagrams of the 31 cancers, clustering offers a useful segmentation of the continuum. Etiological and other extrinsic information on the cancers map significantly into the five clusters, demonstrating their epidemiological relevance. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:1–16, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Month‐of‐birth effect on height and weight in Polish rural children
Authors: Kościński Krzysztof , Krenz‐Niedbała Marta , Kozłowska‐Rajewicz Agnieszka 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis study investigated a hypothesis of dependence of child height and weight on the month of their birth. The sample comprised 1,241 subjects, 568 boys and 673 girls, age 6–20 years, from villages in Olsztyn Province, Northeast Poland. Individuals' height and weight data were standardized by sex and age to allow grouping of individuals born in the same month irrespective of their sex and age at examination. Subjects born in October to March proved to be significantly taller and heavier than those born in April to September. The magnitude of differences between the semiannual groupings equaled 13.1% of a standard deviation (SD) in height (P = 0.03) and 14.2% of SD in weight (P = 0.02). The month‐of‐birth effect was much stronger for children characterized by high socioeconomic status, where these differences amounted to 39.1% of SD in height (P = 0.02) and 49.4% of SD in weight (P = 0.01). There were no regular changes of the effect with age and no differences between the sexes were found. Fitted cosine functions identified the highest values of examined traits for individuals born in December with the lowest values being found in those born in June. Possible explanations of the month‐of‐birth effect are considered in terms of age categorizing, seasonal variety of growth rates, as well as birth‐related or conception‐related global, hemispheric, and local factors. This study rejects the first two possibilities and suggests this effect requires further research to be conducted in various geographical locations, climates, and cultures, on humans as well as on other species. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:31–42, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Why are human newborns so fat? Relationship between fatness and brain size at birth [retracted article]
Authors: Correia Hamilton R. , Balseiro Sandra C. , Correia Elisabete R. , Mota Paulo G. , De Areia Manuel L. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThe plumpness of the human newborn has long been recognized as a trait in need of explanation among researchers. Using a linear regression analysis, we find that head circumference is significantly and positively associated with BMI at birth, after gestational age and birthlength were controlled for, in a sample of 1,069 healthy liveborn routinely delivered at the University Hospital of Coimbra (partial correlation r = 0.409, P < 0.0001). This significant association is consistent with the idea that newborn fatness is related to the higher need of lipids in newborn humans as an energetic and plastic substrate during its accelerated brain growth period. As birthweight and birth head size are associated with head size and cognitive abilities in childhood and adult life, it could be postulated that these cognitive abilities could have acted as selective pressure responsible for the newborn fatness increase in our lineage. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:24–30, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Binary and microsatellite polymorphisms of the Y‐chromosome in the Mbenzele pygmies from the Central African Republic
Authors: Coia Valentina , Caglià Alessandra , Arredi Barbara , Donati Francesco , Santos Fabrício R. , Pandya Arpita , Taglioli Luca , Paoli Giorgio , Pascali Vincenzo , Destro‐Bisol Giovanni , Tyler‐Smith Chris 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis study analyzes the variation of six binary polymorphisms and six microsatellites in the Mbenzele Pygmies from the Central African Republic. Five different haplogroups (B2b, E(xE3a), E3a, P and BR(xB2b,DE,P)) were observed, with frequencies ranging from 0.022 (haplogroup P) to 0.609 (haplogroup E3a). A comparison of haplogroup frequencies indicates a close genetic affinity between the Mbenzele and the Biaka Pygmies, a finding consistent with the common origin and the geographical proximity of the two populations. The haplogroups P, BR(xB2b,DE,P) and E(xE3a), which are rare in sub‐Saharan Africa but common in western Eurasia, were observed with frequencies ranging from 0.022 (haplogroup P) to 0.087 (haplogroup E(xE3a)). Thirty different microsatellite haplotypes were detected, with frequencies ranging from 0.022 to 0.152. The Mbenzele share the highest percent of microsatellite haplotypes with the Biaka Pygmies. Five out seven haplotypes which are shared by the Mbenzele and Biaka Pygmies belong to haplogroup E3a, which suggests that they are of Bantu origin. The plot based on Fst genetic distances calculated using microsatellite data provides a picture of population relationships which is in part congruent and in part complementary to that obtained using haplogroup frequencies. Finally, the Mbenzele and Biaka Pygmies were found to be markedly more genetically similar using Y‐chromosomal than autosomal microsatellites. We suggest that this could be due to the higher phylogenetic stability of Y‐chromosome and to the effect of the male‐biased gene flow during the Bantu expansion. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:57–67, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Contemporary work characteristics, stress, and ill health
Authors: Jamison Cheryl Sorenson , Wallace Michael , Jamison Paul L. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis study investigates the relationship between work and ill health resulting from stressors originating in the work environment. The association between work and health has been well‐documented. Factors in the work environment leading to ill health have included generalized psychological stress and/or specific physical environmental characteristics. Data for this study come from a 1998 telephone survey, the Indiana Survey of Work in a Polarized Economy, under the auspices of the Center for Survey Research at Indiana University. The dependent variable is an index that measures ill health among workers; control variables include sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of these workers as well as their job characteristics; and the four key independent variables are occupational status, organizational disruption, layoff experience, and educational discordance of the workers. Multiple regression analysis on the entire sample (n = 919) demonstrates that occupational status is negatively associated with ill health, while organizational disruption, layoff experience, and educational discordance are positively associated with it. Separate analyses for male (n = 474) and female (n = 445) respondents find significant sex differences in the effects of the key variables: for males, organizational disruption is positively related to ill health while for women occupational status is negatively related and layoff experience and educational discordance are positively related to ill health. The findings from the present research provide insight into the interrelationship of occupational environment and health within the framework of evolutionary medicine. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:43–56, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
D1S80 VNTR locus genotypes in a population of Southeastern Sicily: Distribution and genetic disequilibrium
Authors: Sciacca Giuseppe , Grillo Agata , Paravizzini Gianluca , Barchitta Martina , Libra Massimo , Emmanuele Giovanni , Callari Daniela , Agodi Antonella , Travali Salvatore 
Published: December 2003

AbstractLocus D1S80 is one of the best‐known polymorphic loci, showing a variable number of tandem repeats. This article presents the results on D1S80 allele distributions in a sample of 324 unrelated Sicilian individuals, collected and analyzed in two distinct laboratory centers. Although, as expected, the two most frequent alleles were those with 18 and 24 repeat units, the population sample from southeastern Sicily showed a relatively low frequency of allele 29 (2.9%) and allele 31 (3.4%) and a relatively high frequency of allele 25 (6.0%), allele 30 (1.9%), and allele 32 (1.5%) in comparison with other populations. Statistical analysis performed by the five alleles model provided evidence that the population did not follow the Hardy‐Weinberg equilibrium expectations (observed heterozygosity 70.99% vs. expected heterozygosity 76.31%). The calculated F (fixation index), as a measure of heterozygote deficiency or excess, was positive for four allele groups and negative for one allele group. This finding was consistent with a substantial diversity of human ethnic groups when tested with VNTR systems and might represent a genuine inconsistency, not due to a methodological bias. This scenario deserves further investigation, i.e., by performing a short tandem repeat (STR) units analysis on a greater number of loci in the same population sample. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:91–94, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Interpreting skinfold sums. Use of absolute or relative typical error?
Authors: Woolford Sarah M. , Gore Christopher J. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThe main aims of this study were to: 1) quantify how divergent the sum of seven skinfolds (Σ7skinfolds) of athletes have to be before a general index of measurement imprecision (typical error, TE) is no longer appropriate to very lean or somewhat overweight athletes, and 2) discuss the application of absolute or relative (TE%) typical errors. The Σ7skinfolds was measured in duplicate on 101 athletes by one level 3 anthropometrist with one calibrated skinfold caliper. The TE and TE% for Σ7skinfolds were calculated for all data (TEALL, TE%ALL), as well as for results less than 50 mm (TE<50, TE%<50), inclusive of 50–74.9 mm (TE50–74.9, TE%50–74.9), inclusive of 75–99.9 mm (TE75–99.9, TE%75–99.9) and 100 mm and greater (TE≥100, TE%≥100). At least 20 samples were taken for each measurement range. Limits of agreement (LoA) at the 68% and 95% confidence level were also calculated for all data and the four skinfold ranges. The TE, TE 68, and 95% LoA increased as a direct function of the total Σ7skinfolds and the general TEALL was inappropriate for TE<50 and TE≥100. In contrast, the %TE was very similar within each confidence level (ranging from 1.6–2.1% and 3.1–4.2% for the 68% and 95% LoA, respectively) regardless of the skinfold total. To minimise inaccurate feedback to individuals, anthropometrists dealing with skinfolds of elite athletes should establish an absolute TE on a homogeneous sample of athletes with a Σ7skinfolds in a narrow band, for instance <50 mm. We also urge prudence in interpreting change in skinfold totals and suggest that the 95% level of confidence is appropriate in most instances. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:87–90, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence for a major gene underlying bone size variation in the Chinese
Authors: Liu Peng‐Yuan , Qin Yue‐Juan , Recker Robert R. , Deng Hong‐Wen 
Published: December 2003

AbstractOsteoporosis is a major public health problem defined as a loss of bone strength, of which bone size is an important determinant. In the present study, familial correlation and segregation analyses for the spine and hip bone sizes were performed for the first time in a Chinese sample composed of 393 nuclear families with a total of 1,193 individuals. The results indicate a major gene of codominant inheritance for spine bone size; however, there is no evidence of a major gene influencing hip bone size. Significant familial residual effects are found for both traits, suggesting their polygenic inheritance. Heritability estimates (±SE) for spine and hip bone size were 0.62 (0.13) and 0.59 (0.12), respectively. Sex and age differences in genotype‐specific average bone size were observed. Compared with our previous study on bone mineral density (BMD) in the same population, this study suggests that genetic determination of bone size may be different from that of BMD, and thus studying bone size as one surrogate phenotype for osteoporotic fractures may be necessary. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:68–77, 2004. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Single‐point plasma or urine dextromethorphan method for determining CYP3A activity
Authors: Kuo Benjamin Pei‐Chung , Hu Oliver Yoa‐Pu , Hsiong Cheng‐Huei , Pao Li‐Heng , Chen Ting‐Shien , Hung Chi‐Feng 
Published: December 2003

AbstractDextromethorphan is used widely in vivo to phenotype the polymorphically expressed cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6. Also dextromethorphan is N‐demethylated in vivo to 3‐methoxymorphinan by human CYP3A4/5. The metabolic ratio (MR) of dextromethorphan/3‐methoxymorphinan in plasma, saliva and urinary were examined as a possible in vivo probe of CYP3A activity. In limited previous studies, 4 h urinary samples were collected for determining the MR. To evaluate the repeatability and validity of previously reported and other potential phenotyping methods, the MR from urine samples (at various intervals), from plasma and from saliva (at varying time points) were determined after repetitive single doses of immediate‐release or repetitive multiple doses of controlled‐release dextromethorphan preparations. For the single‐dose study, each of 12 subjects received 15 mg of immediate‐release dextromethorphan in periods II and I, respectively, with a 1 week washout period. For the multiple dose study, each of 16 subjects received 60 mg controlled release dextromethorphan twice daily for 5 days in periods I and II, respectively, with a 2 week washout period. Dextromethorphan and 3‐methoxymorphinan are assayed by high‐performance liquid chromatography. In the single‐dose study, all of the urine MR revealed good repeatabilities for the periods (paired t‐test). The urine MR at any time interval of 0–6 h, 0–8 h and 0–12 h correlated significantly with the MR from 0–24 h urine (r>0.8, p<0.05). In the multiple‐dose study, all MR revealed good repeatabilities for the two periods (paired t‐test). The plasma MR at any time between 0.5 h and 12 h, the saliva MR at 12 h and the urine MR at any interval between 0–2 h, 0–4 h, 0–6 h, 0–8 h, 0–12 h and 0–24 h could predict the MR from AUCτss. In conclusion, the urine sample as 0–6 h, 0–8 h or 0–12 h in the single immediate‐release dose (15 mg) or in the multiple controlled‐release dose (60 mg) procedure, the saliva sample at 12 h, the urine sample at 0–2 h, 0–4 h, 0–6 h, 0–8 h, 0–12 h, 0–24 h or all plasma‐sampling points 0.5–12 h could be used as the dextromethorphan MR for determining the CYP3A activity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rapid determination of enzyme activities of recombinant human cytochromes P450, human liver microsomes and hepatocytes
Authors: Ghosal Anima , Hapangama Neil , Yuan Yuan , Lu Xiaowen , Horne Debra , Patrick James E. , Zbaida Shmuel 
Published: December 2003

AbstractCytochrome P450 (CYP) substrates that yield fluorescent metabolites were used for rapid screening of drug metabolism activities of 13 recombinant human cytochromes P450, human liver microsomes and human hepatocytes. Reproducible results were obtained using a fluorescent plate reader (CytoFluor) more expediently than those generated using conventional HPLC methods. Typically, results for 96 samples were obtained with the plate reader in less than 10 min as opposed to 15–35 min/sample required by conventional HPLC. The fluorescent substrates used to measure CYP activities were as follows: 3‐cyano‐7‐ethoxycoumarin (CEC) for CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19; 7‐ethoxyresorufin (7‐ER) for CYP1A1, CYP1A2 and CYP1B1; 3‐[2‐(N,N‐diethyl‐N‐methylammonium)ethyl]‐7‐methoxy‐4‐methylcoumarin (AMMC) for CYP2D6; dibenzylfluorescein (DBF) for CYP3A4, CYP3A5 and CYP2C8; 7‐methoxy‐4‐trifluoromethylcoumarin (7‐MFC) for CYP2E1, CYP2B6 and CYP2C18; and coumarin for CYP2A6. The chemical inhibition and correlation data indicated that the following substrates can be used as specific functional probes for individual cytochrome P450 present in human liver microsomes: coumarin for CYP2A6 (r=0.82), AMMC for CYP2D6 (r=0.83) and DBF for CYP3A4 (r=0.92). The fluorescent plate reader was found to be useful for the rapid assessment of CYP activities (positive control) in both intact cells and subcellular fractions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.