bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isonymic analysis of post‐famine relationships in the Ards Peninsula, N.E. Ireland: Effects of geographical and politico‐religious boundaries
Authors: Smith M. T. , Williams W. R. , McHugh J. J. , Bittles A. H. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractDuring and in the decades after the Irish Famine of 1846 to 1851, the population of the Ards Peninsula, Co. Down, both declined in numbers and changed in its composition. In 1863 the surnames of all resident householders were collected as part of a national valuation. These data have been used to calculate random isonymy values between civil parishes and the resultant matrix plotted by nonmetric multidimensional scaling. The results revealed both a major geographical barrier to gene flow, and politico‐religious boundaries in existence since the early 17th century. The inter‐relationships between random isonymy, geographical distance, and religious denominational frequencies within the peninsula were investigated by multiple regression analysis. While geographical influences predominated over short and long distances, in the intermediate distance range religion played the dominant role. The net effect of these subdivisions, in combination with famine‐associated population losses, would have been to reduce local effective population sizes significantly, thus enhancing the potential for genetic drift and random inbreeding.
A GAUSS program for computing an index of tracking from longitudinal observations
Authors: Schneiderman Emet D. , Kowalski Charles J. , Have Thomas R. Ten 
Published: June 2005

AbstractTracking can be defined as the tendency of individuals or collections of individuals to stay within a particular course of growth over time relative to other individuals. Thus, tracking describes stability in growth patterns. This paper outlines a statistical procedure for examining tracking in a single sample of measurements made on humans or other animals. This nonparametric procedure, based on Cohen's (1960) kappa statistic, is suitable for equally or unequally spaced serial data that is complete and is appropriate for questions concerning growth as well as other time‐dependent phenomena. It is a conceptually simple longitudinal method that affords insight regarding the predictability of growth within a population. For example, by tracking, one can ask if young children who are in the lowest height for age category are likely to end up in that category at an older age. A user‐friendly GAUSS program is provided that generates overall as well as individual and track‐specific statistics. High‐resolution graphic representations of the data are also generated by the program. Examples are presented, including a tracking analysis of Guatemalan Indian children using quartiles.
Maternal O2 transport and fetal growth in Colorado, Peru, and Tibet high‐altitude residents
Authors: Moore Lorna Grindlay 
Published: June 2005

AbstractHuman populations have lived at high altitudes for lengths of time which are likely to be shortest in Colorado, intermediate in Peru, and longest in Tibet. We hypothesized that the longest‐resident high‐altitude populations have beccome better adapted than shorter‐resident groups as a result of superior abilities to transport and/or utilize O2. Because birth weights are reduced at high altitude and decreased birth weight is associated with increased infant mortality, our criterion for assessing adaptation was preservation of birth weights close to values associated with the lowest mortality risk. Colorado (3,100 m) and Peru (4,300 m) birth weights averaged 3,186±70 g and 2,920±90 g respectively. A sample of 15 births from Tibet (3,658 m) weighed 3,307±110 g which was more than their altitude counterparts and close to sea‐level norms. Pregnancy increased maternal ventilation at all three study sites. In Peru, the resultant elevation in arterial O2 saturation offset the pregnancy‐induced fall in hemoglobin concentration to preserve arterial O2 content at nonpregnant levels. Arterial O2 content decreased slightly in Colorado and more markedly in Tibet in the pregnant compared to the nonpregnant state. The Colorado and Peru women with the greatest rise in ventilation and ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia produced the heaviest birthweight infants, suggesting that maternal arterial oxygenation was an important determinant of fetal growth. The pregnant women in Tibet did not have higher levels of arterial O2 content than the pregnant Colorado or Peru women nor did maternal arterial O2 content relate to birth weight in Tibet. Infant birth weight in Tibet tended to be correlated with the ratio of uterine artery to common iliac artery mean flow velocity, suggesting that redistribution of lower‐extremity blood flow to favor the uterine circulation may have acted to augment uterine O2 delivery in the Tibet women. Thus, the limited data available suggested that the Tibetans may be better adapted as judged by less fetal growth retardation and may utilize maternal O2 transport mechanisms not reliant upon increased arterial O2 content.
Variation in hemoglobin concentration among samples of high‐altitude natives in the Andes and the Himalayas
Authors: Beall Cynthia M. , Brittenham Gary M. , Macuaga Francisco , Barragan Mario 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThis paper presents data on hemoglobin concentration in a rural Andean sample at 3,800–3,900 m and incorporates them into a review intended to evaluate possible sources of the range of variation in mean hemoglobin concentration among samples obtained at high altitude. Between 3,400 and 4,000 m, rural Himalayan highlanders average 1.4 gm/dl lower mean hemoglobin concentration than rural Andean highlanders. With respect to potential causes of anemia, it is concluded that the relatively low values of rural Himalyan populations are not explicable by lower hypoxic stress or different techniques of obtaining and analyzing blood samples and are probably not explicable by nutritional deficiency and disease. With respect to potential causes of polycythemia within Andean populations, it is concluded that the somewhat higher values of some mining and urban samples of Andean higlanders may not be due to the mining occupation per se but may be due partly to the inclusion of European and mestizo (with at most 500 years of high‐altitude ancestry) along with Amerindian highlanders (with millenia of high‐altitude ancestry) as well as to the inclusion of highlanders living well above their own habitual altitudes of residence. The Andean polycythemia is probably not due to obesity, high androgen levels, or frequent intermittent hypoxemia during sleep. The effect of heavy smoking cannot be evaluated. Further work on hematological adaptation to high altitude must pay special attention to sample characteristics.
Ethnic variation in the size of infant at birth
Authors: Schumacher Laurie B. , Pawson Ivan G. , Green James R. , Partridge J. Colin , Kretchmer Norman 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe impact of ethnicity and other maternal factors (BMI, parity, glucose tolerance, gestational age) on the size of the infant at birth was investigated in a relatively low socioeconomic status, multi‐ethnic population at San Francisco General Hospital. A sample of 2,069 infants born to mothers of black, non‐Hispanic white, Hispanic, and Chinese descent and whose mothers had received prenatal care at San Francisco General Hospital were studied. Maternal size, pregnancy history, and blood glucose were determined prenatally at 26–28 weeks gestation. Anthropometry was performed on the infant within 72 hours of birth. Black and Chinese infants were the lightest in weight, while Hispanic infants were the heaviest. When correction was made for maternal factors black infants were shown to be significantly (P < .05) lighter in birth weight than non‐Hispanic white, Chinese, or Hispanic infants. Black infants were also significantly shorter in birth length and smaller in chest circumference. Chinese infants had significantly (P < .05) greater adiposity, as indicated by the sum of skinfold measurements, than both black and Hispanic infants. These findings are relevant to current practices in neonatal growth categories which are determined solely by birth weight and do not account for variations in body composition. Comparisons with a relatively higher socioeconomic status sample from Kaiser‐Permanente Hospital (Oakland) shows a similar prevalence of low birth weight among blacks. These results support other results that ethnicity is a major independent influence on the weight of the newborn.
Altitude and growth among the sherpas of the eastern Himalayas
Authors: Gupta Ranjan , Basu Amitabha 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe results of the anthropometric survey of Sherpa children of both sexes (n = 478) from high‐ and low‐altitude areas in the eastern Himalayas are presented. The study reveals that growth is slower both more prolonged in the high‐altitude Sherpas compared with growth at low altitude and that Sherpa children are the smallest of all the high‐altitude populations considered here. Sexual dimorphism is not well defined during the earlier age periods. Our skinfold thickness data from the low‐altitude Sherpas corroborate the centripetal distribution of fat found elsewhere.
Adiposity and age of menarche in Hispanic women
Authors: Ness Roberta 
Published: June 2005

AbstractWomen with increased adiposity have been shown to have earlier menarche. However, the association between menarche and body fat distribution has been controversial. The present study examined relationships between several anthropometric data and age at menarche in 2,494 women aged 25 to 74 years from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Early menarche was similarly related to adiposity as measured by body mass index (BMI), skinfolds representative of central adiposity (subscapular and iliac), and skinfolds representative of peripheral adiposity (triceps and calf). These relationships persisted after controlling for a variety of influences such as socioeconomic status; they were consistent in all three ethnic groups studied, but were significant only in Puerto Rican women. Ratios of central/peripheral skinfold measures were not associated with menarche. These analyses describe the relationship between early maturation and overall adiposity in three distinct Hispanic groups and reject a specific association between menarche and central body fat distribution.
The reliability of recalled estimates of menarcheal age in a sample of older women
Authors: Madrigal Lorena 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe accuracy of recalled age at first menses has been questioned, particularly if subjects are relatively old. This paper illustrates the use of a statistical technique that quantifies the reliability of recalled age at menarche based on re‐interview of a small (15–20) subsample of subjects. Menarcheal age collected with the retrospective method in a sample of 108 females, 50 years of age and older, from Limón, Costa Rica, is reliable.
Relationship between population density and rates of injury mortality in New York State (exclusive of New York City), 1978–1982
Authors: Relethford John H. , Mahoney Martin C. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe relationship between population density and rates of mortality from unintentional and intentional injuries is examined using mortality data from New York State (exclusive of New York City), 1978–1982. Records for 26,118 individuals with an underlying cause of death due to injury were assigned to population density quintiles based on residence of decedent at time of death. Mortality rates for each population density quintile were examined separately by sex and for 11 causes of injury death. Overall, injury mortality is highest in the most rural and most urban populations. For both sexes, there is an inverse relationship between mortality from motor vehicle incidents and population density, and a positive relationship between homicide and population density. Male mortality from unintentional poisoning deaths shows a positive relationship with population density. Male mortality from fires shows a U‐shaped relatinship with population density, with the highest mortality in the most rural and most urban populations. The relationships observed here between injury mortality and population density are most likely due to concomitant variation with aspects of the physical and cultural environments, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and individual risk behaviors.
Age at menarche and an analysis of secular trends in menarcheal age of South African urban and rural black females
Authors: Cameron N. , Kgamphe J. S. , Levin Z. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractAge at menarche was estimated using status quo techniques on a sample of 230 rural South African females aged 11 to 17 years. Mean age of menarche was 14.03 years (SD = 1.25 years). Compared with contemporary rural and well‐off urban samples, these females experienced menarche 0.6 years earlier than did the rural sample and 0.8 years later than the well‐off urban group. Data from 11 previously reported studies of menarcheal age in urban and rural girls were analyzed with these data to determine the existence and magnitude of secular trends and whether rates differed between urban and rural environments. Regression analysis demonstrated a clear secular trend in both urban and rural females since 1943. Menarcheal age decreased at a rate of 0.34, 0.73, and 0.46 years per decade for rural, urban, and combined groups, respectively. The decline in menarcheal age over the last 40 years is thought to be due to improving socioeconomic conditions, but differences between urban and rural groups remain. Within rural groups there appears to be considerable variation in menarcheal age.
Somatic comparisons: Baiga and Gond males of Madhya Pradesh, India
Authors: Nath Surinder , French Karen E. , Spurgeon John H. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractData were collected during 1987 on 84 Baiga and 146 Gond males, ages 7 years to 18 years, living in rural regions of Madhya Pradesh State (India). Comparisons are made between Baiga and Gond males for 11 measures of body size, one measure of body form, and the body mass index (BMI). Somatic comparisons (standing height, body weight, and skelic index) were made at 5 ages with earlier samples of rural Indian males. Across all ages Gond males exceed their Baiga peers in standing height, sitting height, shoulder width, and body weight. Skelic index values (lower limb height expressed relative to sitting height) are similar for both ethnic groups through late childhood, but thereafter values are higher for Baiga males. Through age 15 years, Gond males exceed other rural Indian males from various tribes in standing height and body weight; lower limb height expressed relative to sitting height is highest for Baiga males.
Influence of chronic sublethal cyanide on body weight in neonatal swine: Implications for humans consuming cassava (Manihot esculenta)
Authors: Linda Fatimah , Jackson Collier 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe consumption of CN−containing foods (particularly cassava) is pervasive among millions of humans throughout the tropics, yet very little is known about the long‐term implications of this dietary pattern on growth. In this study Liberian (West African) levels of dietary cyanide (CN−) intakes were replicated in juvenile swine for 24 weeks to quantify the effects of specified, chronic, sublethal doses of this metabolic poison on body weight. Twelve female and male littermates were partitioned into a control (Ø mg CN−) and 3 treatment groups (1.2, 0.7, or 0.4 mg CN−per kg body weight per day). CN−treatments depressed absolute weight gain in a dose‐dependent manner with significant differences apparent as early as week 12. Thyroid hormones T3and T4and fasting blood glucose values were evaluated at 6‐week intervals. T3levels were ostensibly suppressed and blood glucose values elevated with increasing CN−ingestion. Serum thiocyanate (SCN−), the major metabolite of sublethal CN−ingestion, was positively correlated with CN−intake loads (r = 0.83,P< 0.01). Hypothesized physiological foundations for these observations and theoretical implications for human growth are elaborated.
Malawi maternal and child nutrition study: Study design and anthropometric characteristics of children and adults
Authors: Pelletier David L. , Low Jan W. , Msukwa Louis A. H. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractThe Malawi Maternal and Child Nutrition (MMCN) Study is a three‐year longitudinal investigation of some of the determinants and consequences of protein‐energy malnutrition in a rural African population. This paper describes the anthropometric characteristics of children and adults based on the baseline census conducted in the 89 villages included in the MMCN Study. Mean length‐for‐age of Malawian children (birth‐60 months) is very low (Z‐score = −2.21) and, unlike most other populations, continues to decline with advancing age. Weight‐for‐length is more nearly normal (mean Z‐score = −0.21) but shows the same age‐related decline between birth and 18 months (and subsequent return to normal levels) as that seen in many other developing countries. This age pattern is also reflected in upper arm anthropometry, notably estimated arm fat area. Length‐for‐age and weight‐for‐age of children is associated with birthweight in the 40% of children having health cards, but body composition indicators do not show the same consistent association with birthweight at all ages. Adult men and women have very low skinfold thicknesses relative to U.S. blacks (50–60% of U.S. medians at the triceps and subscapular sites). Estimated upper arm cross‐sectional muscle (plus bone) area for Malawian men averages 74% of U.S. white values, while that for women averages 100% of U.S. white values.
Sex differentials in unintentional injury mortality in relation to age at death
Authors: Relethford John H. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractSex differentials in unintentional injury mortality were examined using death records for New York State residents that died as the result of an unintentional injury between the years 1984 and 1988 (n = 22,547). Male/female ratios were computed for nine age groups and for the four leading causes of unintentional injury death: motor vehicle incidents, falls, fire, and drowning. Male mortality is significantly higher than female mortality for all causes (P < 0.05). The age‐specific pattern of mortality varies among the four causes of death examined, but the age‐specific pattern of male/female mortality ratios is consistent among all four causes. All four leading causes of unintentional injury death show a peak in relative male risk in young adulthood (usually between 15 and 24 years of age). This common peak may reflect increased risk associated behaviors of young males, including alcohol. Two causes of death, motor vehicle incidents and fire, show a second peak in relative male risk among the elderly (75+ years), perhaps reflecting sex differences in alcohol and tobacco use.
Longitudinal analysis of deciduous tooth emergence in Indonesian children. I. Life table methodology
Authors: Holman Darryl J. , Jones Robert E. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractDeciduous tooth emergence was investigated in a sample of 468 children from central Java. The subjects were examined every 35 days for up to 2 years. Statistics on the timing of emergence for each tooth were derived from actuarial life table estimates, and male and female survivorship curves of tooth emergence were compared for statistical sex differences. Javanese children exhibited delayed emergence compared to other populations. No overall pattern of sexual dimorphism was detected, although upper first molars emerged significantly earlier in females. A comparison of emergence sequence polymorphisms between Javanese, Finnish, and Japanese children revealed that the i1‐i2‐m1‐c‐m2 sequence is most common in all three populations, but each shows a uniquely higher proportion of one or more less common polymorphisms.
Heterogeneity among populations for familial aggregation of blood pressure
Authors: Rice Treva , Province Michael A. , Keller Jacob B. , Bouchard Claude , Higgins Millicent W. , Rao D. C. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractA simple model of familial aggregation was applied to age–sex corrected systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure data from two separate studies: The Québec Family Study and the Tecumseh Community Health Study. Examination of the familial correlations suggested heterogeneity across studies in all DBP correlations, but for SBP only spouse correlations were higher in Québec. Fitting the path model to the data revealed that the only source of heterogeneity for SBP was in spouse resemblance (u), which was significant in Québec but could be dropped from the model in Tecumseh. For SBP, no further heterogeneity was detected, with the vertical transmission being compatible with (but not evidence for) purely polygenic inheritance (i.e., τf = τm = 1/2). Familiality estimates (t2) for SBP were quite high (nearly 40%), and extra sibling resemblance was significant. For DBP, heterogeneity was detected in all parameters of the model except for spouse resemblance. Common sibship environmental effects (b) were of little importance in Tecumseh but were highly significant in Québec. Vertical transmission from mothers (τm) could be fixed at 1/2 in Tecumseh but was only about half as large in Québec, and familiality estimates were higher in Québec (nearly 60%) than in Tecumseh (about 25%). One source of the heterogeneity for SBP was due to cohabitation, which positively impacted on sibling correlations. The source of the sample heterogeneity in DBP may be through environmental factors which have a smaller impact in Tecumseh than in Québec, although genetic heterogeneity could not be ruled out. Differences in the study designs, as well as differences in the two populations, could account for the heterogeneity detected.
Fatness and fat pattering in 12–17‐year‐old youth from the Chandigarh zone of Northwest India
Authors: Johnston Francis E. , Sanjeev  , Jit Indar , Indech Gary D. 
Published: June 2005

AbstractFatness and fat patterning were studied in a sample of 502 youth, 12–17 years of age, of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) from the Chandigarh Zone of northwest India. Fatness estimates were based on six skinfolds, while fat patterning was analyzed through the centripetal fat and waist/hip ratios, and through principal components of skinfolds. In all analyses, fat patterns were adjusted for general body fatness. Upper SES subjects were larger and fatter than lower SES subjects of the same age and sex. As expected, females displayed higher fatness levels than males, a more peripheral distribution of body fat, and lower body patterning of trunk fat. Lower SES was associated with a centripetal, rather than a peripheral, fat pattern. After correction for amount of fat, there were no differences between SES groups in the waist/hip ratio, within‐sex. Compared to U.S. youth of a similar age range, Indian subjects displayed higher BMI‐adjusted centripetal fat and waist/hip ratios. Lower SES was associated with reduced body fatness along with a centralized pattern of fat deposition, which could reflect a greater mobilization of peripheral fat to meet the metabolic demands of growth. While there was some suggestion of an ethnic effect in the two ratios, this could not be demonstrated with confidence.
Changes in age at menarche in Germany: Evidence for a continuing decline
Authors: Ostersehlt Dörte , Danker‐Hopfe Heidi 
Published: June 2005

AbstractSince there are no recent data on secular changes in growth and maturation of girls from West Germany, two cross‐sectional studies with equal design have been carried out in Bremerhaven, North Germany, in 1979/80 and 1989. The present paper presents the results of an analysis of changes in age at menarche based on status quo data from school girls (1979/80: 2,796; 1989: 2,223) aged between 10.0 and 18.5 years. Probit analyses show a reduction over the 10‐year period from 13.30 ± 1.19 to 13.01 ± 1.21 years, while logit analyses, which fit the empirical data slightly better, show a reduction from 13.29 ± 1.21 to 13.00 ± 1.24 years.