Sex predetermination: Its impact on fertility

Abstract

Genetic variability among seven Chilean Indian populations (Aymara, Atacameño, Diaguita, Pehuenche, Mapuche, Alacaluf, and Yagan) is measured in terms of net codon differences per locus from gene frequency data on seven serologic markers. Indices of cultural and linguistic differences are computed surveying the various ethnographic accounts of these tribal populations. Of the variables, culture, language, geography, and the degree of Caucasoid admixture, only geography seems to be the important factor in explaining the variabilities in genetic distances among these populations. An empirical relationship between geographic distance and gene identity is also established and shown graphically.     

Behavior measurement and population change

Abstract

Selection intensity, as indicated by total pre‐reproductive mortality and fertility (Crow, 1958), was computed among three Indian tribal populations living in similar geographical environments—the Kolams, Raj Gonds, and Pardhans of Adilabad District, Andhra Pradesh. The Pardhans showed the greatest selection intensity, (1.1811) followed by the Kolams (0.8564) and Raj Gonds (0.7240). Pre‐reproductive mortality and infertility contributed equally to selection intensity in these tribal groups.     

The Identity of La Salle’S Pana Slave

Abstract

In June 1682 Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was presented with a “Pana” boy by the Illinois Michigamea Indians. The boy told La Salle of his history as a captive in four Indian tribes. He described Indian village locations and listed the tribes which had “many” horses. The significance of the information for which he was the source depends on the tribal identity of the captive. It has been suggested in anthropological literature that “Pana” indicated “Pawnee,” Ponca, Arikara, Wichita, even Apache. After examination of evidence-linguistic, cultural, historical - it seems most likely he was a Southern Pawnee, a Wichita. If this was so, then his information substantiates the theory of Kroeber, Brant and others that some Kiowa Apaches were still living in the southern Plains in the late 17th century.     

The image of loss: Jalal Toufic's filmic Beirut

Jalal Toufic's cinematic and literary pieces form a unique corpus within contemporary Arab filmmaking. His esthetic vision—built around a sublime understanding of image as loss—not only connects with the current ruins of the Lebanon he films, but also resonates with the classical tradition of the nasib in Arabic poetry.     

Admixture and population replacement of the sells Papago Indians: Three strategies

Abstract

Changes in rates of admixture on the Sells Papago Indian reservation over the last century are shown to reflect ethnohistorically recorded events of extra‐tribal contact. Three distinct strategies providing, in varying degrees, for the preservation of group identity were identified. It is argued that strategies favoring maximum preservation of ethnic identity have threatened the survival of the reservation breeding units because traditional patterns of mate selection are inconsistent with present settlement patterns and result in delay of mate selection and childbearing early in reproductive life.     

Higher Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Adolescent and Young Adult Girls Belonging to Different Indian Tribes with Varied Socio-Sexual Lifestyle

BackgroundDespite high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer in Indian women, no study has been done in tribal populations whose socio-sexual lifestyle is different. Therefore, HPV screening has been carried out in pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adult tribal girls using self-collected urine samples.Methods20–35 ml self-collected midstream urine samples were obtained from a total of 2278 healthy tribal girls (9–25 years) comprising pre-adolescent, adolescent and young adults from three Indian states: Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. β-globin positive 2034 samples were employed for HPV detection and genotyping.ResultsThe overall prevalence of HPV infection in tribal girls was 12.9% (262/2034). More than 65% (172/262) of them were infected with HR-HPV types of which HPV16 was the most predominant type (54%). Young adult girls aged 18–25 years showed a significantly higher prevalence of HPV infection (19.2%; OR = 3.36; 95% CI 2.97–6.34, P<0.001) as compared to that in adolescent (11.4%; OR = 1.82; 95% CI 1.20–2.76, P<0.01) or pre-adolescent girls (6.6%).ConclusionThis is a first study showing significantly a very high prevalence of HPV infection in adolescent and young adult tribal girls possibly due to different socio-sexual behavior, indicating a serious health concern for Indian tribal women.     

Media spectacles: The production and reception of Tamil Cinema advertisements

Contemporary popular arts in Third World locations are agents of emergent modernities produced in the context of global interactions. This paper focuses on hand‐painted Tamil cinema advertisements that dominate the urban landscape in Chennai (Madras). Based on ethnographic research I demonstrate that the production network of these objects—methods of training, application of technology, and stylistic criteria—is constantly mutating. Reception of the advertisements unpacks a complex semiotics of internationalism and neo‐traditionalism as well as a mix of commercial and esthetic messages. I argue that these cinema advertisements are emblematic of the modernity of post‐colonial visual culture in India.     

Caratteristiche della fosfo-gluco-isomerasi di una pianta superiore

Abstract

PHOSPHOGLUCOISOMERASE FROM PEA COTYLEDONS. — 6-P-glucose iso-merase has been purified from pea cotyledons. A 70-fold purification has been obtained by means of acetone fractionation and two absorption-elution steps on calcium phosphate gel. The partially purified enzyme is free of interfering activities.

KM values of 2.5×10^?4 and 10^?4 been measured for glucose-6-P and fructose-6-P respectively. reaction, measured at pH 7.8 and 30° C., is 3.7 (Gl-6-PIFr-6-P).

The enzyme is not inhibited by p-chloro-mercurybenzoate up to 10^?3 M. Besides the substances already known to inhibit competitively the isomerase from animal tissues, the pea enzyme has been found to be competitively inhibited by ribose-5-P and by triosespho-sphates, the K₁, being respectively 7×10^?4 and 2.5×10^?4.

The properties of the pea enzyme are compared to those of animal tissues isomerase. The possible physiological significance of these properties is discussed.     

Crystal Structure of 1-(2′,3′,5′-Tri -O-Acetyl-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-3-acetoxy-2-pyridone: An Antitumour Agent

Abstract

1–C3′, 3′, 5′–Tri—O—acetyl— β—D—ribof uranosyll)—3—acetoxy —2—pyridone,crystallised in space group P2 with z=2 and cell parameters a=12. 446(2), b=10. 415(2), c=7. 600(2) A, β=03. 3O(4). The structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full—matrix least—squares to a final R value of 0·251 for 1847 observed reflections. The sugar—pucker is found to be ³ECC3′ endo) with P = 17.7° and x_CN=170. 2(2)° in the range. The C4′-C5′ conformation is gauche minus. Because of the absence of H—bond donor atoms. the crystal structure is stabilised by a network of C-H—-O close contacts. No base stacking is observed.     

Characterization of peripheral blood stem cell grafts mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and plerixafor compared with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor alone

Background aimsThis study aimed to characterize the immune effectors contained in apheresis samples obtained from patients with grafts mobilized with plerixafor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (P+G) compared with grafts mobilized with G-CSF alone (G).MethodsAliquots of apheresis samples were obtained from 36 patients with malignant diseases after mobilization with G (n = 18) or P+G (n = 18). The phenotype and cytokine secretion profile of T cell and dendritic cell subsets were characterized by multicolor cytometry including intracellular cytokine staining.ResultsIn grafts collected after mobilization with P+G, there was a significantly higher percentage of CD3⁺ T cells compared with samples collected after mobilization with G alone. On a functional level, a significant increase of interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α secreting CD8⁺ T cells was observed in the P+G group compared with the G group. CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ regulatory T cells were similar in both groups but exhibited a lower expression of inducible costimulatory molecule and a significantly higher expression of CD127 in the P+G group. Myeloid dendritic cells (MDCs) and BDCA3⁺ dendritic cells were similar in both groups. In contrast, plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs) (CD123⁺BDCA2⁺HLA-DR⁺) were significantly increased in the P+G grafts, leading to a higher PDC-to-MDC ratio. PDCs mobilized by P+G displayed different functional markers—a higher percentage of ILT7⁺ PDCs and decreased expression of CD86—suggesting a potential regulatory capacity of PDCs mobilized by P+G.ConclusionsGrafts mobilized with P+G exhibited major different functional features compared with grafts mobilized with G alone, suggesting that such grafts may have an impact on patient outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation.     

Long-distance travel for birthing among Indigenous and non-Indigenous pregnant people in Canada

BACKGROUND:For Indigenous Peoples in Canada, birthing on or near traditional territories in the presence of family and community is of foundational cultural and social importance. We aimed to evaluate the association between Indigenous identity and distance travelled for birth in Canada.METHODS:We obtained data from the Maternity Experiences Survey, a national population-based sample of new Canadian people aged 15 years or older who gave birth (defined as mothers) and were interviewed in 2006–2007. We compared Indigenous with non-Indigenous Canadian-born mothers and adjusted for geographic and sociodemographic factors and medical complications of pregnancy using multivariable logistic regression. We categorized the primary outcome, distance travelled for birth, as 0 to 49, 50 to 199 or 200 km or more.RESULTS:We included 3100 mothers living in rural or small urban areas, weighted to represent 31 100 (1800 Indigenous and 29 300 non-Indigenous Canadian-born mothers). We found that travelling 200 km or more for birth was more common among Indigenous compared with non-Indigenous mothers (9.8% v. 2.0%, odds ratio [OR] 5.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.52–8.48). In adjusted analyses, the association between Indigenous identity and travelling more than 200 km for birth was even stronger (adjusted OR 16.44, 95% CI 8.07–33.50) in rural regions; however, this was not observed in small urban regions (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 0.37–2.91).INTERPRETATION:Indigenous people in Canada experience striking inequities in access to birth close to home compared with non-Indigenous people, primarily in rural areas and independently of medical complications of pregnancy. This suggests inequities are rooted in the geographic distribution of and proximal access to birthing facilities and providers for Indigenous people.

Access to birth close to home, surrounded by loved ones, is taken for granted by most Canadians. The societal importance of family support during birthing has been highlighted during the severe acute respiratory syndrome and COVID-19 pandemics, despite the known and potentially fatal risks to hospital visitors, because people in labour have been one of the few patient groups exempt from visitor restrictions.^1,2 For residents living in rural areas of Canada, long-distance travel for birth is a reality that is becoming increasingly common in some regions because of closures of obstetrical services in smaller community hospitals.³ This is only partially mitigated by the revitalization of rural midwifery practice.^4,5Emerging evidence shows that the frequency of adverse medical events during labour and delivery for rural populations is similar for births that take place close to home and births for which people travel because of an absence of services close to home.^3,4,6 Less is known about the impacts of travel for birth on breastfeeding rates, maternal mental health and family functioning. Several studies have documented the negative impacts of birthing away from home with respect to maternal satisfaction and birth experience.^7–10 This evidence is particularly compelling for Indigenous populations for whom birthing on or near traditional territories in the presence of family and community is a long-standing practice of foundational cultural and social importance that contributes to well-being, cultural continuity and kinship.^7–12The striking isolation, family disruption and racism experienced by Indigenous people who are forced to travel alone for birth as a result of externally imposed federal “evacuation for birth” policies¹¹ has been met with a series of policy initiatives to support return of birth to rural and remote Indigenous communities. ^13–15 In April 2017, then federal Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott, committed to “a path to be able to return the cries of birth” to Indigenous communities and funding to support travel for a companion when Indigenous people living in rural and remote areas needed to travel away from home for birth.¹⁶ Before 2017, Indigenous pregnant people often travelled and birthed away from home alone without family or community support, because escorts were not deemed medically necessary. Although these initiatives have improved access to Indigenous perinatal programming and Indigenous birth attendant support in some local areas, over the past decade there has not been any substantial expansion of Indigenous birthing facilities outside of urban centres in Canada and at least 1 remote Indigenous birthing facility has closed.¹⁷Given this dynamic policy context, the national scope and Indigenous identifiers in the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey (MES) provides a unique opportunity to quantify how often Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are travelling away from home for birth and to evaluate the association between Indigenous and non-Indigenous identity and distance travelled for birth in Canada.     

Thermodynamics of B-Z Transition of Poly[d(G-C)] in a Water-Ethanol Solution. The “Tie Calorimetry”

Abstract

Poly[d(G-C)] in a 55% ethanol solution undergoes a transition from the Z form to the B form when the temperature is increased from 20° to 50°C. The enthalpy of the transition, ΔH_BA =—1.4 kcal/mol, has been determined with a “tie” polyamine which stabilizes the Z conformation. This value has been shown to be practically independent of ionic strength within the range of 5 x 10⁴ M—2 x 10³ M NaCl.     

An evolutionary perspective on physical attractiveness

Everyday experience suggests that physical attractiveness is important in personal—and especially sexual—relationships. This impression is confirmed by a large body of social psychological research.^1,2 Cross-cultural surveys and ethnographic accounts show that concern with the attractiveness of potential mates is also common in non-Western societies and in tribal and peasant cultures.³ However, social psychologists and anthropologists have often had a hard time explaining why attractiveness should count for so much, or why some features rather than others should seem particularly attractive. The theoretical difficulties in accounting for physical attraction are brought out in a Brazilian saying, “Beleza nâo pôe na mesa” (“Good looks don't put anything on the table”), which points to the absence of any evident practical advantage to choosing an attractive mate. Faced with these difficulties, a growing number of researchers in biology, psychology, and anthropology have turned to the modern theory of sexual selection, which has been highly successful in explaining nonhuman animals attractions to traits of no direct ecological utility. In this article, I survey recent efforts to apply the theory of sexual selection to human physical attraction.     

Unsuspected Dengue as a Cause of Acute Febrile Illness in Children and Adults in Western Nicaragua

BackgroundDengue is an emerging infectious disease of global significance. Suspected dengue, especially in children in Nicaragua’s heavily-urbanized capital of Managua, has been well documented, but unsuspected dengue among children and adults with undifferentitated fever has not.Conclusions/SignificanceDengue is an important and largely unrecognized cause of fever in rural western Nicaragua. Since Zika virus is transmitted by the same vector and has been associated with severe congenital infections, the population we studied is at particular risk for being devastated by the Zika epidemic that has now reached Central America.     

What Are the Conformational Changes Induced by Hard and Soft Metal Ion Binding to 2′-Deoxyguanosine?

Abstract

The NMR study on the interactions of 2′-dG with Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions in D₂O solution has shown that binding of softer metal ions to N7 shifts N <!—graphic—> S pseudorotational equilibrium slightly towards N-type sugar conformations. There are no detectable changes for the conformational equilibria across C4′-C5′ bond, whereas the population of the syn conformers is slightly increased.     

Culture modifies expectations of kinship and sex‐biased dispersal patterns: A case study of patrilineality and patrilocality in tribal yemen

Studies of the impact of post‐marital residence patterns on the distribution of genetic variation within populations have returned conflicting results. These studies have generally examined genetic diversity within and between groups with different post‐marriage residence patterns. Here, we directly examine Y chromosome microsatellite variation in individuals carrying a chromosome in the same Y haplogroup. We analyze Y chromosome data from two samples of Yemeni males: a sample representing the entire country and a sample from a large highland village. Our results support a normative patrilocality in highland Yemeni tribal populations, but also suggest that patrilocality is violated often enough to break down the expected correlation of genetic and geographic distance. We propose that a great deal of variation in male dispersal distance distributions is subsumed under the “patrilocal” label and that few human societies are likely to realize the idealized male dispersal distribution expected under strict patrilocality. In addition, we found almost no specific correspondence between social kinship and genetic patriline at the level of the clan (large, extended patrilineal kinship group) within a large, highland Yemeni village. We discuss ethnographic accounts that offer several cultural practices that explain exceptions to patrilocality and means by which social kinship and genetic patriline may become disentangled. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synthesis and Murzne P388 Antitumor Activity of Uridine Mustard: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

5′-[Bis (2—chloroethyl) amino]—5′-deoxy uridine (uri-dine mustard), compound 5, was synthesized and characterized by its ¹H, ¹³ C, and two-dimensional homonuclear shift correlated (COSY) and two—dimensional heteronuclear correlated NMR spectra. In comparative murine studies, uridine mustard was substantially less leukopenic than the equitherapeutic dose of uracil mustard.     

Parziale purificazione della DPN-chinasi da foglie di pisello

Abstract

PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF DPN-KINASE FROM PEA LEAVES. — The presence of DPN-kinase has been demonstrated in pea leaves. The enzyme has been purified about 100 fold from this material. The possible significance of DPN-kinase and TPN-phosphatase (FORTI et Al., 1962) in the interconversion of pyridine nucleotides is discussed.     

La Cellula: Aspetti Morfologici e Metabolici Dei Suoi Organuli

Abstract

The cell: morphologic and metabolic aspects of its organelles. — Some aspects of the mechanism of the chloroplasts movement induced by light, it has been studied in «Elodea canadensis» leaves. Red, yellow and blue light induce the movement of the chloroplasts. Green light does not promote the movement. 5.10—⁵M CMU completely inhibits cyclosis. Photosynthesis is required for cyclosis. ATP alone, does not Substitute photosynthesis, however in the presence of green light, 5.10—³M ATP, pH 6.5, promotes cyclosis movement. It has been concluded that light has dual role in promoting the movement in «Elodea» leaves: first, inducing photosynthesis and consequently the ATP production; second, light is necessary to start the movement exciting a photo-receptor, visualized like a System Controlling the induction-repression of enzymes. It has been postulated that ATP produced by illuminated chloroplasts, saturated a «SSS» system, connected with another System, «SAV», lowering the plasma viscosity; ATP in this action is not necessarily used as energetic Compound. Successively, by means an unknow photoreceptor, the mechano-enzyme-system, «SEM», promotes cyclosis utilizing ATP as energic source. The movement stop when ATP is exausted or immediately, in the presence of ATP, when the photoreceptor is not working, like happens in the dark.