Showing papers in "Human Biology in 1985"

Chronological distribution of enamel hypoplasias and weaning in a Caribbean slave population.

Abstract: Dental enamel hypoplasia is a putative marker of childhood morbidity (nutritional or infectious stress) which can he analyzed by age-of-occurrence using a calcification standard. We have recorded age-specific occurrence of (a) minor linear hypoplasias, (b) pits, (c) major growth-arrest lines, and (d) combined hypoplasias in 103 specimens of 17-19th century Caribbean slaves. This population is probably unique in terms of environment, nutritional deficiency and other severe environmental stresses, and (especially) association with historical resources that might allow more specific correlation of stresses with hypoplasia chronology. Barbados slaves have a clearly defined central age tendency of 3-4 years at formation of hypoplasias. The lateness of the mode, the percent concentration between 3-4 years, and the residual occurrences at 4+ years are relatively pronounced compared to other reported populations (notwithstanding differences in counting techniques). The age of first hypoplasia occurrence per individual is also probably later in slaves than in other populations. The 3-4 year age range encompasses the year following the historically-documented relatively late time that slave children were weaned (at 2-3 years). Other non-industrial populations show a hypoplasia peak at 2-3 years following a presumed weaning at 1-2 years. Thus the weaning hypothesis and other historical factors (such as periodic food shortages and famine conditions) help explain the mode and the residual distribution of hypoplasia. The historical sources also support the general expectation that the postweaning period was one of high risk. Following studies of extant populations (Sarnat and Schour, 1941; ElNajjar et al. 1978; Infante and Gillespie, 1974, 1977; Moller et al. 1972; Ainamo and Cutress, 1982; Gruenwald, 1973), dental enamel hypoplasia has recently become popular as a marker of childhood morbidity in excavated remains (Goodman e t al. 1980, 1984; Schulz and McHenry, 1975; Cook and Buikstra, 1979; Hillson, 1979; Black, 1979; Clarke, 1980; Corruccini et al. 1982). Although precise causes of this interruption in enamel deposition are multiple (Pindborg, 1982; Fraser and Nikiforuk, 1982; ElNajjar et al. 1978), much of the hypocalcemia leading to hypoplasia formation is generally assumed to reflect metabolic stress, temporarily disturbing amelogenesis, due to malnutrition and/or infection. 'Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, 62901. Human Biology, December 1985, Vol. 57, No. 4, p p . 699-711. 8 Wayne State University Press, 1985 700 Robert S . Corruccini, Jerome S . Handler and Keith P. Jacobi * In an earlier analysis of a slave osteological sample from the Caribbean island of Barbados, we assumed that relatively high hypoplasia prevalence el would be consistent with this etiology (Corruccini et al. 1982). The historb ical evidence indicates Caribbean slaves experienced nutritional deprivation and severe developmental disruption (e.g., Dirks, 1978; Sheridan, 1985: 201-219, 234-239; Kiple and Kiple, 1980). Results generally confirmed our expectations (see also Handler and Corruccini, 1983). We also briefly noted a tendency for more numerous and serious hypoplasias to occur in laterather than early-calcifying teeth; this tendency was possibly related to a late weaning period in Caribbean slaves. The logical relation between hypoplasia peak and a society's typical weaning age (the post-natal time of maximum environmental/metabolic stress on children in non-industrial societies) is the major theme of many hypoplasia studies (Hillson, 1979; Black, 1979; Clarke, 1980; Goodman et al. 1980). In this paper we give a more detailed analysis focused on the chronology and classification of enamel hypoplasias in Barbados slaves, with special reference to the weaning hypothesis and the integration of historical and biological data.

Body composition in adopted and biological siblings.

Abstract: Body density through underwater weighing and 6 skinfolds (triceps, biceps, subscapular, suprailiac, abdominal and medial calf) were measured in 871 biological and adopted siblings of French descent from the greater Quebec city area. These individuals belonged to 49 sibships of adopted sibs, 71 sibships of unrelated individuals living together including adoptees, 35 «sibships» of first degree cousins, 229 sibships of biological brothers and sisters, 66 sibships of DZ twins and 83 sibships of MZ twins. Age of subjects ranged from 8 to 26 years. Age and sex accounted from 14% to 48% of the variance in body composition measurements, with the exception of fat free weight (71%). Residual scores of age and sex were submitted to analysis of variance and correlation analysis. The ratio of the between sibships to the within sibship means of squares reached significance (p ^ .05) for almost all measurements in the MZ, DZ, biological and cousin sibships, for the skinfolds but not for body density, fat free weight and the ratio of subcutaneous fat to total fat mass in the unrelated sibships, and for none of the measurements in the adoptive sibships. Interclass correlations could be computed in a maximum of 80 pairs of adopted sibs, 120 pairs of unrelated sibs, 95 pairs of cousins, 370 pairs of biological sibs, 69 pairs of DZ twins and 87 pairs of MZ twins. None of the coefficients reached 0.20 (p < 0.05) in the pairs of adopted or unrelated sibs. On the other hand, correlations were often significant in the pairs of cousins, particularly for the skinfold measurements. The same coefficients were generally significant and increasing from the pairs of brothers and sisters to the pairs of DZ twins and MZ twins. This pattern was particularly clear for several individual skinfolds, the extremity and the trunk skinfolds, the ratio of extremity to trunk subcutaneous fat and fat free weight. Genetic effects reaching about 0.40 and above were found for measurements of subcutaneous fat, fat distribution, body density and fat free weight. Twin data yielded higher and often unrealistic estimates of heritability probably because of the differential effects of the common environment in MZ and DZ pairs. Skinfold measurements, body density obtained through underwater weighing and fat free mass derived from the latter are generally used as indicators of body composition in humans (Malina, 1980). Several investigators have studied skinfold measurements in biologically related brothers and sisters (Howells, 1966; Garn et al. 1975; Mueller, 1978; Mueller and Malina, 1980; Bouchard, 1980; Savard et al. 1983). Others have considered skinfold data in pairs of dizygotic and monozygotic twins living 1Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory, Laval University, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4. Human Biology, February 1985, Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 61-75 © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.144 on Wed, 07 Sep 2016 04:31:57 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 62 Claude Bouchard et al. together (Osborne and DeGeorge, 1959; Brook et al. 1975; Hawk and Brook, 1979), but only Garn and co-workers (1979) have reported such data in pairs of genetically unrelated siblings living together. On the other hand, the studies cited above have used a maximum of four skinfold measurements, with the exception of Savard et al. (1983), who reported on six sites. Moreover, the relationship between subcutaneous fat and total body fat is not a simple one, as it is affected by age, sex and total fat among several factors (Lohman, 1981). To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been published about body density and fat free weight in biological and unrelated siblings. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to analyse the resemblance in unrelated and biological sibships and the covariation in pairs of sibs of various kinds for six skinfold measurements, subcutaneous fat distribution, body density, fat free weight and a ratio of subcutaneous fat to total fat mass. Material and Methods

A critique of the NCHS weight for height standard.

Abstract: The use of the NCHS standard to assess weight-for-height in children is equivalent to expressing the child's weight and height, in the ratio W/Hp, as a fraction of the NCHS median W/Hp for age, where the power p of height changes with age. It falls from a value of 3 at birth to 1.5 at 18 months, and then rises to 3 again by 11 years. Its discontinuous pattern of change in the second six months of life leads to potentially misleading assessments of weight-for-height in very tall or very short children. Weight for height standards in general, and the NCHS standard in particular, should not be used to assess weight-for-height in young children. The index W/H2, expressed as a fraction of the NCHS median W/H2 for age, should be used instead. The American growth standard published by the National Center for Health Statistics (Hamill et al. 1978; 1979) differs from several other widely used national standards, e.g. those of Britain and Holland (Tanner et al. 1966; Van Wieringen et al. 1971) in containing a weight for height standard. National standards generally provide reference figures of weight and height for age, but only with the NCHS standard can obesity (or less likely in the Western World, protein-energy malnutrition) be assessed solely from measurements of weight and height. Ideally of course, obesity should be assessed from body fat skinfolds, but they are difficult to measure reproducibly and this approach is not recommended for routine screening (Owen, 1982). The reasons why some studies include a weight for height standard, while others do not, have never been clearly spelt out. There is certainly a need for a simple method to assess overweight or underweight in childhood, which a weight for height standard appears to satisfy. On the other hand, various authors have expressed dissatisfaction with the behavior of weight for height standards in general, and have made efforts to provide alternative indices with better properties (Dugdale, 1971; McClaren and Read, 1975; Rolland-Cachera et al. 1982; Cronk et al. 1982). The authors of the NCHS report (Hamill et al. 1979) themselves say that the weight for height standard assumes age-independence: "... a useful statistical assumption that is not quite true." Against this should be set the one big advantage of the weight for height standard it can be used when children's ages are either unknown or unreliable, as is often the case in the Developing World. XMRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Downhams Lane, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XJ, U.K. Human Biology , May 1985, Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 183-196. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.45 on Thu, 01 Sep 2016 05:02:09 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

An odontometric analysis of the Lengua Indian dentition.

Abstract: Normative odontometric data are presented on 202 living Lengua Indians of the Chaco area of Paraguay. This group is characterised by relatively large teeth and high percentages of sex dimorphism compared to other Amerindian populations. When correlation effects among the teeth were held constant through multivariate canonical analyses, contributions to male-female distance were found to be different from those isolated by univariate means. Our findings failed to support the canine field theory of sex dimorphism. Weighted mean coefficients of variation with sex-related variability removed showed reversal of the patterns of variability predicted by Butler's field theory in the upper incisor and lower molar fields. The frequencies of the M2 > Ml molar size sequence in Lengua Indians fell within the range of frequencies reported for other Amerindian groups. Harris and Nweeia (1980) have drawn attention to the large deficit between reported odontometric studies on North American Indian populations and those of South American groups. The present study not only extends the range of South American Indian groups investigated but more importantly, probes the patterns of sex dimorphism and tooth size variation in a preliterate population. Materials and Methods Artificial stones casts of the dental arcades of 202 living Lengua Indians formed the material for this study. The population investigated lived near the Sociedad Missionera en Sud America mission, situated 120 statute miles north of Ascuncion, Paraguay and consisted of 100 males and 102 females (Kieser and Preston, 1981). Details of their subsistence activities and acculturation have been published elsewhere (Kieser et al. 1985a; Brown et al. 1974). Buccolingual and mesiodistal tooth diameters were determined on the right side of both arcades of each study model using a sliding caliper with a vernier scale (0.05 mm) on which the measuring tips had been sharpened. No measurements were attempted on 1 Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa. Postal address: Dr. J. A. Kieser, 3 Bellavista Centre, Reeders Street, Haddon, 2091 Johannesburg, South Africa. institute for Biostatistics, Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa. Human Biology, December 1985, Vol. 57, No. 4, pp. 611-620. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.243 on Thu, 06 Oct 2016 04:44:51 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 612 ]. A. Kieser , H. T. Groeneveld and C. B. Preston malpositioned, carious, heavily attritioned or fractured teeth, nor were buccolingual measurements taken on the anterior teeth as these had been shown to have accumulated large calculus deposits on their lingual aspects (Kieser and Preston, 1984). The mesiodistal (MD) diameter of a tooth was defined as the maximum distance between the contact points of a tooth in normocclusion and the buccolingual (BL) diameter as the maximum breadth of the tooth perpendicular to the MD diameters (Sciulli, 1979). Measurements were repeated on 25 randomly selected casts and yielded a mean within-rater difference of 0.05 ± 0.30 mm and a reliability coefficient of 0.97 which compares favorably with the results reported by Kolakowski and Bailit (1981), 0.04 21 mm. In addition to summary statistics, the multivariate nature of our data matrix was explored by the application of canonical discriminant analyses. Distances between canonical centroids were calculated using Mahalanobis' generalized distance measure (D2). Group differences over all the variables considered were measured using Wilk's lambda, which takes into consideration both group differences between centroids and cohesiveness of data cases around group centroids (Klecka, 1980; Overall and Klett, 1972). The assumption that different subset population variance matrices are identical was tested according to the method of Kendall and Stuart (1966). Patterns of tooth size variability were explored using the formulae proposed by Gingerich (1974) and Gingerich and Schoeninger (1979). This method allows for the factoring out of the contributions of sexual dimorphism and the calculation of weighted mean coefficients of variation with sex related variability removed.

Bone density in postmenopausal North American Indian and Caucasian females.

Abstract: Radiologic measurements of cortical thickness of the radius and second metacarpal were used to determine bone density in postmenopausal North American Indian (N=34) and Caucasian (N=43) women. The ratio of cortical area to total crosssectional area was calculated. The mean cortical area ratios, adjusted for number of years postmenopause, were significantly lower in Indian women for both the radius (.60) and metacarpal (.69) compared with Caucasian women (.66 and .76 respectively). Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, the body mass index (kg/m2) and number of years since menopause were identified as significant predictors of radial bone density in Indians. Body mass index was also the most important determinant of metacarpal bone density in Indian women and, contrary to expectations, smoking had a positive effect. Among Caucasian women, both radial and metacarpal bone density decreased with increasing number of years since menopause and with cigarette smoking. Chronologic age, age at menopause, activity level, frequency of consumption of high-calcium foods, and presence or absence of diabetes were not significant predictors of cortical area ratios in either group. The findings from this preliminary study suggest that postmenopausal bone loss may be highly prevalent among American Indians as well as Caucasians. Postmenopausal bone loss is a major cause of morbidity in elderly women. A number of factors play a role in the maintenance or loss of bone mass. Thin women are more susceptible to osteoporosis than heavy women (Daniell, 1976; Meema et al. 1973). Smoking (Daniell, 1976) and inactivity (Aloia et al. 1978; Heaney et al. 1982) are reported to adversely affect bone mass. Women with non-insulin dependent diabetes may also be at risk for bone loss (Levin et al. 1976; Paganini-Hill et al. 1981), although other investigators have noted greater cortical bone mass in diabetics (Meema and Meema, 1967; De Leeuw and Abs, 1977). Finally, calcium deficiency has been associated with bone loss in postmenopausal women (Nordin et al. 1979; Heaney et al. 1982). Our purpose was to determine if the risk factors for bone loss previously identified for Caucasian women are operative for Indian women. department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C1. 2Department of Radiology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C1. Human Biology, December 1985 , Vol. 57, No. 4, pp. 719-726. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 40.77.167.44 on Tue, 26 Jul 2016 06:20:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 720 Susan E. Evers, John W. Orchard and Richard G. Haddad To our knowledge, bone density has not been measured in Canadian Indians. The prevalence of obesity in Indian women is much higher compared to Caucasians (Nutrition Canada, 1975; Evers and Rand, 1984). Non-insulin dependent diabetes is common among North American Indians (West, 1978). In addition, Canadian Indians reportedly have a low intake of calcium (Nutrition Canada, 1975). Materials and Methods Subjects were postmenopausal women aged 45 years and over who attended a family medical center in Southwestern Ontario. The catchment area for the center includes the Caradoc Reserve and Oneida Settlement (Indians of the Oneida, Chippewa and Muncey bands), and two rural towns. Thirty-four Indian and 43 Caucasian women were enrolled in the study. The subjects had their weights and heights measured and were interviewed to obtain the following information: birthdate, smoking status (smoker or non-smoker), age at menopause, usual level of physical activity, frequency of consumption of calcium-rich foods, and presence or absence of diabetes. For purposes of this study, subjects were considered diabetic if they reported a history of diabetes and were under treatment as indicated on their medical records. The body mass index (weight in kilogram s /height in metres squared) was used as an indicator of obesity (Khosla and Lowe, 1967; Criqui et al. 1982). Activity level was rated high for subjects who stated that they exercised for at least 20 minutes daily or two to three times a week. Subjects who responded not often or never to the activity question had a low activity level. Similarly, subjects who reported that they had a minimum of one serving a day of a calcium-rich food (milk, yoghurt, ice cream, cheddar or processed cheese) were rated high for consumption of calcium-containing foods. Women who did not have at least one daily serving of a food high in calcium were ranked low in calcium consumption. After the interview was completed, radiographs of the hand and proximal radius were taken for subsequent measurement of the cortical thickness of the second metacarpal and the radius. These measures provide an estimate of cortical bone loss in the non-weight-bearing appendicular skeleton. All measurements were made by R.G.H. as described below. Posterior-anterior radiographs of the hand were taken using industrial film at 100 cm tube-film distance as described by Meema and Meema (1976). The length of the second metacarpal was measured in millimeters with a ruler. At the midpoint of the second metacarpal, the external width This content downloaded from 40.77.167.44 on Tue, 26 Jul 2016 06:20:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Bone Density in Postmenopausal Women 721 (W) and the width of the marrow cavity (m) were measured with a caliper. The distance between caliper points was read to 0. 1 mm using a measuring magnifier. Using these measurements, the ratio of cortical area to total cross-sectional area was calculated: (W2m2)/W2, where W = external width measured in millimeters and m = width of the marrow cavity in millimeters. The cortical area ratio records the relative amount of cortical bone in the skeleton correcting for differences in skeletal size (Solomon, 1979). Lateral radiographs of the proximal radius were obtained in a similar fashion. To facilitate the measurements for calculation of the cortical thickness, a distance of two and one-half times the diameter of the radial head was measured from the capitulum humeri distally and marked (Meema and Meema, 1976). The cortical area ratio was calculated as described above. Standard statistical techniques were used in the analysis of the data, including the t-test for comparison of means in independent samples. Analyses of covariance were conducted on the cortical area ratios with number of years since menopause as the covariate. The data were further analyzed using multiple regression with bone density (represented by the area ratio) as the dependent variable and number of years since menopause, body mass index, frequency of consumption of high calcium foods, smoking status, activity level and presence or absence of diabetes (for Indians only) as the independent variables (Nie et al. 1975).

Measures of lateral functional dominance: foot preference, eye preference, digital interlocking, arm folding and foot overlapping

Abstract: In the present study we examined five different measures of lateral functional dominance: foot preference (kicking a ball), eye preference, digital interlocking (hand clasping), arm folding and foot overlapping. The calculated frequencies of left and right dominance for each of these variables suggested a significant (p < .01) association between the two foot functions, foot preference and foot overlapping, in both males and females. The foot functions also showed a significant association with handedness (handwriting). With the exception of the significant association between eye preference and foot preference in females, the three remaining traits, eye preference, digital interlocking and arm folding were found to be independent of each other, as well as of the two foot functions and handedness. The frequencies of left dominance for the two foot functions, foot preference and foot overlapping were twice as high in males as in females. The other traits showed no sex related differences in lateral dominance. Cross-sectional age comparisons gave no evidence that the frequency of any of the five traits studied change with age once adulthood has been reached. The controversy surrounding the causal explanation for lateral functional dominance, particularly with respect to hand clasping, arm folding, foot preference and eye preference has continued throughout most of this century. Some have suggested a genetic basis for these functional traits while others have attributed lateral dominance to habitual practice, environmental factors or chance phenomena (Lutz, 1908; Downey, 1927, Wiener, 1932; Komai and Fukuoka, 1934; Kawabe, 1949; Freire-Maia et al. 1958; Pons, 1961; Beckman and Elston, 1962; Lai and Walsh, 1965; Freire-Maia and DeAlmeida, 1966; Forrai and Bankovi, 1969; Shastree and Malhotra, 1971; Singh and Malhotra, 1971; Bryden, 1973; Ferronato, et al. 1974; Martin, 1975; Freire-Maia, 1976; Frisancho et al. 1977; Gur and Gur, 1977; Birkett, 1979; McManus and Mascie-Taylor, 1979; Porac and Coren, 1979; Porac et al. 1980). Other controversial issues surround1National Institute on Aging, Gerontology Research Center, NIH, 4940 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224 2National Institute of Neurological & Communicative Disorders & Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20205 Human Biology , September 1985 , Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 327-334. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.102 on Sun, 31 Jul 2016 05:06:42 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 328 C. C. Plato, K. M. Fox and R. M. Garruto ing these functional characteristics include differentiation on the basis of sex, age, and their relationship to handedness. Most researchers agree, however, that hand clasping, arm folding, footedness and eyedness work independently of each other (Wiener, 1932; Pons, 1961; Beckman and Elston, 1962; Ferronato et al. 1974). In an attempt to try to clarify these issues we tested participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) at the Gerontology Research Center for sixteen variables of Lateral Functional Dominance. The participants were tested for all variables at the same "sitting". Results of eleven of these tests, which dealt strictly with hand dominance, were reported earlier (Plato et al. 1984). In the present study we report the results of the remaining five traits, foot preference, eye preference, digital interlocking, arm folding and foot overlapping, and the extent of their interrelationship with handwriting, which we previously found to be a reliable indicator of hand dominance (Plato et al. 1984).

Crown diameters of the deciduous teeth in Dominican mulatto children

Abstract: Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown diameters of the decidious teeth were measured in a sample of 100 Mulatto children from the Dominican Republic. Mean values for mesiodistal dimensions tended to be larger in boys than girls whereas the reverse applied for buccolingual dimensions, suggesting a possible difference in tooth shape between the sexes. Incisors and canines showed greater variability in crown-size than molars, a finding consistent with observations in other populations. Data derived from odontometric studies of human populations may be applied in many areas, including genetic, anthropological and forensic investigations, as well as in clinical dentistry. Furthermore, comparisons of tooth size and variability within populations provide an insight into the control mechanisms of odontogenesis. Although many studies of permanent tooth size have been published, there are still relatively few reports relating to the deciduous dentition. This study provides data on crown size in the deciduous dentition of children from the Dominican Republic and includes reference to sexual dimorphism in the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters. Study Population and Methods Dental casts were obtained of the deciduous teeth of 100 Dominican Mulatto children, aged from 3 to 5 years, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, located in the Caribbean Archipelago. The sample, including 51 boys and 49 girls, consisted of unrelated children who were attending preschool institutions. Only children with a full complement of deciduous teeth, no restorations and no clinically detectable caries or tooth wear were included. Although it was not possible to ascertain prenatal nutritional conditions, none of the children suffered from dietary deficiencies or starvation after birth. At least 70% of the Dominican peo1Centro de Odontologia Pediatrica, P.O. Box 2753, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 2Department of Dentistry, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia. Human Biology, February 1985, Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 27-31 © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.124 on Wed, 22 Jun 2016 05:42:40 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 28 F. Garcia-Goday, M. Michelen and G. Townsend pie are Spanish-speaking Mulattos whose ancestors were Black slaves from Africa and White settlers from Spain, whilst the remaining 30% consist of Whites of European descent and Blacks. Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown diameters were recorded to an accuracy of 0. 10mm using vernier calipers according to the definitions of Seipel (1946) and Moorrees et al. (1957). Double determinations of tooth measurements showed that experimental errors were small, standard deviations of a single determination (Dahlberg, 1940) ranging from 0.09mm

A method of constructing an index of obesity

Abstract: Body density data obtained from underwater weighing, of 458 children and adults aged from 6 to 51 years, in combination with weight (W) and stature (S), have been used to estimate percent body fat (%BF). A model for an obesity index of the form: %BF = C(Wm/Sk) is proposed. The parameters of the model were derived using a non-linear least squares procedure to maximize the relationship between the index and %BF. The constant C was independent of age but varied by sex. The estimated values of m (1.2) and k (3.3) for the sample studied were ageand sex-independent and significantly different from integers. The estimates of %BF from the index were significantly correlated with those from densitometry (r ranging from +0.5 to +0.75). It is considered that any estimated index of body fat based on measures such as W and S is likely to be population-specific. Nevertheless, the proposed general model can be used to obtain the "best" estimates of the parameters C, m and k in different samples, particularly samples for which more direct fat-related variables are not available. This approach requires little training in measurement techniques, it is non-invasive and is applicable to the very obese. The population specificity of the parameters would make it difficult to compare populations using such an index, but the approach should be useful for inter-individual comparisons and analyses of serial data, if densitometric data are available for subsets of the samples studied. A simple quick method of assessing quantitatively the fat content of the body would be of great practical importance. The "direct" methods, including densitometry, gamma radiometry or dilution, can be used only in laboratories and can be applied to few subjects. Several studies suggest there are significant relationships between accepted methods of determining percent body fat (%BF) and simple techniques that could be widely applied (Katch and McArdle, 1973). These simple techniques include body surface area estimated from weight and stature (Burmeister, 1980), skinfold thicknesses (Florey, 1970; Parizkova, 1976) and body circumferences (Katch and McArdle, 1973; Singh, 1978). Also a combination xAssiut College of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Assiut City, Egypt. 2Department of Experimental Statistics, LOREX Pharmaceuticals, 5200 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Illinois 60077. 3Division of Human Biology, Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University School of Medicine, 1005 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387. Human Biology, September 1985, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 415-430. © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 40.77.167.32 on Sun, 31 Jul 2016 04:24:54 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 416 A.K. Abdel-Malek, D. Mukherjee and A. F. Roche of weight and stature was used by Mellits and Cheek (1970) to estimate total body water. Functions of weight (W) and stature (S) are used commonly as indices of obesity, but there is a lack of agreement as to which index is to be preferred. Some consider a single index, such as W/S2, should be applied to all groups while others claim a population-specific index should be used with a power of S that maximizes the correlation with W, but minimizes the correlation with S (Benn, 1971; Billewicz et al. 1962). The W-S indices reported can be classified into two common forms according to the power parameters applied to W and S. One of these has the form Wm/S (e.g., Ponderal Index where m = 0.33); the other has the form W/Sk (e.g., Quetelet's Index, or Body Mass Index, where k = 2). Both these examples are special cases of the proposed index (Wm/Sk). A new general family of W-S indices is proposed with the form:

Use of surnames in the study of population structure.

Abstract: An analysis of surname frequencies was used for the study of population structure. The surnames in the register of the parish of Los Teques Venezuela from 1790 to 1869 were classified in three classes frequent intermediate and rare. Using the surnames of the male spouses it was found that a relationship exists among the surname class and consanguinity place of birth and marriage with a woman belonging to an equal surname class. The use of surname frequencies as indicators of inbreeding endogamy and migration is discussed. (EXCERPT)

Inter- and intra-population migration of the Gidra in lowland Papua: a population-ecological analysis.

Abstract: The Gidra-speaking Papuans, numbering 1,850 and inhabiting thirteen villages, are an endogamous population; 95% of the married members were born within the Gidra territory. Indeed, 70% of the marriages are village endogamous. The bulk of the remainder of marriages are between adjacent villages. Thus, the Gidra population is maintained by intervillage migration in overlapping sub-units, each including several adjacent villages. The rate of out-migration to urban areas, which has been increasing in the last couple of decades, is higher in acculturated villages, although the difference is largely offset by an uneven flow of inter-village migrants within the territory. Like an animal population, a human population can be defined genetically as "a reproductive community of sexual and cross-fertilizing individuals which share in a common gene group" (Dobzhansky, 1968), or ecologically as "a collective group of organisms (of the same species) occupying a particular space" (Odum, 1971:162). When human populations conform to both definitions they are the ideal unit of human ecological study, because such units form the basis of adaptation and survival not only in short duration (e.g. one year duration) but also through generations (Suzuki, 1980; Ohtsuka, 1983). This viewpoint has been prevalent in human genetic studies (e.g. Harpending and Jenkins, 1974; Neel and Weiss, 1975; Skolnick, CavalliSforza, Moroni and Siri, 1976). The Gidraspeaking Papuans in the eastern end of the Oriomo Plateau (Fig. 1) are such a population. This paper treats interand intra-population migrations of the contemporary Gidra people, including those who were born in the Gidra land and have migrated out of it and those who were born outside the Gidra land and have migrated to it, with special reference to the structure of the Gidra population. Subjects and Methods The 13 Gidra-speaking villages are located from several to 20 km apart within a territory of some 4,000 square km (Fig. 1). The southeastern end department of Human Ecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113, Japan. 2National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka 565, Japan. Human Biology, February 1985, Vol 57, No. 1, pp. 33-45 © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.187 on Wed, 30 Mar 2016 05:49:44 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 34 Ryutaro Ohtsuda et al. Fig. 1. The location of 13 Gidra-speaking villages in the eastern end of the Oriomo Plateau. The dotted lines show the path (including canoe-travel) network. faces Daru Island, the capital of Western Province with about 7,000 dwellers in 1980. Of the 13 villages, one (Dorogori) is situated on the coast; four (Abam, Woigi, Zim and Ume) are along the river; and eight (Kuru, Wonie, Gamaeve, Podare, Wipim, Iamega, Kapal and Rual) are inland. The village locality largely determines the subsistence patterns, which seem to have long histories (cf. Beaver, 1920; Landtman, 1927; Williams, 1936). In the inland villages, the people depend on exploitation of Metroxylon sago and hunting, supplemented by slash-and-burn horticulture, while in the riverine and coastal villages fishing tends to take the place of hunting and the importance of sago reduces with enlargement of horticulture. Village locality is also related to the degree of acculturation in practice, to the ease of travel to Daru. The coastal village is the most acculturated, followed by riverine villages and then inland villages (Ohtsuka et al. 1984). During our two field investigations in 1980 and in 1981-82, genealogical-demographic data were collected. In this study, the birth and living places were identified by the name of village or town. In processing the data, however, those outside Gidra land were classified into larger units: This content downloaded from 157.55.39.187 on Wed, 30 Mar 2016 05:49:44 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Gidra Migration Patterns in Lowland Papua 35 (1) the villages of seven adjacent linguistic groups (Wurm, 1971); (2) Daru, and (3) "other" for places beyond the adjacent lands but within the Western Province; and (4) Port Moresby (the national capital), and (5) "other" for the localities beyond Western Province. To classify people by age, this paper follows the traditional age-graded system, which classifies the males into six grades (three for the married and three for the unmarried) and the females into four grades (two for the married and two for the unmarried), as shown in Table 1, although due to the small number, miid is treated together with nanyuruga in this paper. This paper defines migration as follows: any individual whose birth and living places differ is classified as having migrated from the former to the latter, while the others are classified as not having migrated. Except for recent out-migration to urban areas, the villagers usually grew up in their birthplaces, and at the time of marriage some of them migrated from their birthplaces and others stayed in them. Results and Discussion Demographic Overview Three summary tables (Tables 2, 3 and 4) demonstrate the basic demographic characteristics of the subjects. As shown in Table 2, the de

Effects of inbreeding on mortality: a study among three South Indian communities.

Abstract: The effects of inbreeding on mortality are studied using data on three castes of different socioeconomic level in Andhra Pradesh India. Consanguineous marriage is common among all three groups. "Total mortality (including pre-natal mortality) is found to be two and a half times higher in the inbred sub-sample than in the non-inbred sub-sample." (EXCERPT)

Thermal responses to exercise in the cold: influence of sex differences and alcohol.

Abstract: The study examined the responses of men and women exercising in a cold environment while experiencing the same metabolic heat production and the same blood alcohol levels. Subjects (7 men and 7 women) performed intermittent exercise (60W) for approximately 3 hours at 5°C. on two occasions; once the subjects consumed alcohol (0.84 gm absolute alcohol/kg lean body weight) and once they consumed a placebo. In the control experiments the women had colder skin temperatures, the men had colder core temperatures and heat loss was similar. Blood alcohol (peak values approximately 9m M ) did not affect the women but, the men had a significantly greater heat loss. It was concluded that under these conditions the men are more susceptible to cold and/or alcohol stresses when performing mild

Human biology and epidemiology of childhood bone cancers: a review.

Abstract: Clinical case series and descriptive epidemiologic studies have suggested a relationship between childhood bone cancers and accelerated skeletal growth, but definitive studies are lacking. Anthropometric studies of osteosarcoma and E wing's sarcoma cases and normal controls, along with their families, are needed to assess the role of growth and maturation. Some descriptive epidemiologic features of these two histologic types of childhood bone cancer are reviewed, along with evidence for the role of hormones (i.e., growth hormone, somatomedins, androgens). Theoretical mechanisms involving hormones are outlined including their possible role as promoters or as factors interacting with environmental agents (such as ionizing radiation). Clinical-epidemiologic studies of families prone to osteosarcomas and to constellations of cancers (and/or skeletal diseases and malformations) may aid in distinguishing genetic and environmental factors and defining specific mechanisms (e.g., hormonal, cytogenetic) of susceptibility. Our understanding of the etiologies of osteosarcoma and E wing's sarcoma in children may depend on the integration of knowledge from various areas, including: the differentiation and growth of bone cells and their precursors; the hormonal control of human skeletal growth and maturation; epidemiologic studies of exposures to environmental agents; clinical-epidemiologic studies of families prone to certain cancers; and developments regarding the role of oncogenes and cytogenetic abnormalities in specific cancers. Although primary bone cancer is a rare disease, with average annual ageadjusted incidence rates per 100,000 of 1.0 for males and 0.6 for females in 1973-77 (Young et al. 1981), a substantial proportion of cancers in children and adolescents occurs at this site. In the population-based New York State Cancer Registry, for example, primary bone cancers comprised about 12.5% of all cancer cases diagnosed in 1976-79 among Upstate (i.e., New York State exclusive of New York City) residents aged 0-34 years. Clinical case series and epidemiologic studies, reviewed below, have suggested a possible relationship between childhood bone cancers and accelerated skeletal growth, but definitive analytic studies and investigations of interactions between skeletal growth and other factors are lacking. There are ever-increasing opportunities for integrating epixBureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, Division of Community Health and Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York 12237. Human Biology, February 1985, Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 1-26 © Wayne State University Press, 1985 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.127 on Sun, 26 Jun 2016 07:43:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 2 Anthony P. Polednak demiologic data with information from several areas including the endocrinology and genetics of human growth, the biology of bone cells (i.e., their physiology, differentiation and growth) and ideas on carcinogenic mechanisms. This review examines the state of present knowledge on the etiology of childhood bone cancer, demonstrates the need for integrating information from these several areas and suggests directions for future research. Because of many epidemiologic differences between the two major histologic types of childhood bone cancers (i.e., osteosarcoma and E wing's sarcoma) (Miller, 1981), these cancers will be discussed separately wherever possible. Some Descriptive Epidemiologic Findings The hypothesis that risk of childhood osteosarcoma is related to rates of skeletal growth is based on the associations between osteosarcoma rates (by age, sex and anatomical site) and known patterns of growth in stature. Price (1955, 1958) recognized that the earlier occurrence of osteosarcomas in girls (vs. boys) corresponded to their earlier adolescent growth spurt, that the greater incidence in young males was related to their greater rates of growth and that the predilection of osteosarcomas for the lower end of the femur reflected maximal growth rates in this region. A rather similar hypothesis was advanced earlier by Johnson (1953), which was based on the association between bone cancer risk and antecedent bone diseases involving "excessive cell activity" as well as on growth rates. These observations regarding childhood osteosarcoma rates and known age and sex patterns in growth have been confirmed by others (Glass and Fraumeni 1970; Hems, 1970; Larsson and Lorentzon, 1974). Incidence data derived from the population-based New York State Cancer Registry for residents of New York State for 1974-80 were examined for age and sex differences in osteosarcoma and Ewings sarcoma. Included were 181 cases of osteosarcoma and 143 cases of Ewing's sarcoma diagnosed under 25 years of age (Table 1); population data reported from the 1980 Census were used for denominators. Average annual incidence rates by sex and age (Table 1) are also plotted in Figure 1. For osteosarcoma (Table 1 and Figure 1) incidence rates are slightly higher for females than for males in some age groups before 15 years, as reported in other studies. In contrast to females, male osteosarcoma rates show a distinct peak at age 17 years. These sex differences have been attributed to differences in growth patterns. That is, the adolescent height spurt begins earlier in girls than boys (10.5 vs. 12.5 years), reaches This content downloaded from 157.55.39.127 on Sun, 26 Jun 2016 07:43:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms