Relative lower extremity length in Mexican American and in American black and white youth

Stature, sitting height, estimated leg (subischial) length and the sitting height/stature ratio are compared in Mexican American, American White and American Black boys 9 through 14 years of age and girls 12 through 17 years of age. Mexican American youth are shorter in stature and have absolutely shorter lower extremities. The sitting height of Mexican American youth is similar to that of Black youth and shorter than that of White youth. The sitting height/stature ratio is virtually identical in Mexican American and White youth, indicating similar proportions of lower extremities to stature. In contrast, Black youth have absolutely and relatively longer lower extremities than Mexican American and White youth. These results would thus seem to suggest that reference data for the body mass index (BMI) based on American White youth can be used with Mexican American youth, while race-specific values may be necessary for American Black youth. However, ethnic variation in physique, perhaps frame size, may be a factor which should be more systematically considered in evaluating the utility of the body mass index.     

Emotions of the weak: violence and ethnic boundaries among Coptic Christians in Egypt

This article offers a theoretical framework to understand Muslim–Christian relations in contemporary Egypt. I argue that the interdependence of power relations, emotions, and symbolic boundaries are the key to understanding minority emotions as a political product and a boundary marker. Particular emotions of Christian minorities invoked during interactions and non-interactions with Muslim neighbours reveal the distance between the two groups, while cultivating cohesion among Christians. Data collected from participant observation in public spaces of a religiously tolerant neighbourhood in Cairo and in-depth interviews with 27 Coptic Christians show that indirect violence and daily microaggressions, triggered by the power disparity, unfold internalized fear and ‘righteous indignation’, negative feelings including anger and irritation against unjust treatment. Findings also discuss Coptic strategies to dismiss negative emotions. The interdependent framework, which has been largely understudied, expands our scope of understanding how power relates to minority emotions and symbolic boundaries between ethnic and religious groups.     

贵州四个民族人群线粒体DNA Region V的遗传多态性

目的研究世居贵州的侗族、仡佬族、土家族和彝族人群线粒体DNA Region V的遗传多态性。方法采用PCR-PAGE和克隆测序法对4个群体108份样本的mtDNA Region V进行序列分析。结果只检测到标准型和短型（即9-bp缺失）两种多态。贵州四个民族人群的平均9-bp缺失频率为22．2％，在侗族、仡佬族、土家族和彝族人群中依次为32．1％、22．6％、17．2％和15．0％。结论贵州四个民族mtDNA9-bp缺失频率均较高，这与其地域分布相一致；贵州彝族和土家族显示了相似的缺失频率，提示两者可能有共同的祖先。     

Skin color comparisons among ethnic groups of college men

Reflectance readings of skin color were taken on the medial aspect of the left upper arm. The subjects were United States college men between ages 18 and 27 years attending the University of South Carolina. Using the DSL 99 Reflectance Spectrophotometer, readings were obtained under controlled conditions at five settings (601, 603, 605, 607, 609). Ethnic groups studied included young men of 1) Northwest European White ancestry, 2) West African Black ancestry, and 3) Afro-Black/Amerind ancestry. Means and variability statistics serve to describe the skin color distributions. Means were near 12 and 32 for filters 601 and 609 on men of West African Black ancestry, with corresponding means near 36 and 64 on men of Northwest European White ancestry. There was no overlapping of comparable frequency distributions from these two ethnic groups. Significance tests at P = .01 allowed acceptance of the hypothesis that skin color on the medial arm surface was darker for young men of Afro-Black ancestry than for those of 75% Afro-Black ancestry and 25% Amerind ancestry. Means from original data were compared with means from earlier studies on black and white males in Africa, America, and Europe.     

A study of the polymorphism and ethnic distribution differences of human serum paraoxonase

The enzyme serum paraoxonase shows a polymorphism in Europeans which is governed by two alleles. The first allele has a gene frequency p_low of 0.716–0.777, and is manifested as a low activity group in homozygotes. More than 50% of all European test subjects can be included in this group. A second allele with a gene frequency q_high of 0.223–0.284 was found in typical European distributions and is manifested in both the form of a second heterozygotic and a third homozygotic group with high activities. The Hardy-Weinberg rule for a two-allele model is valid for the distribution. The gene frequency p_low of the first allele decreases as one moves from Europe in the direction of Africa and Asia. In typical Mongoloid and Negroid collectives, less than 10% of the population can be included in the low-activity group, a group which is not even demonstrable in the Aborigines of Australia. The serum paraoxonase of the Aborigine population shows unimodal distribution. The validity of the Hardy-Weinberg rule for a three-allele model must be rejected in all examined collectives. Human serum paraoxonase shows neither age-related changes in activity nor sex-dependent activity differences.