This document only includes an excerpt of the corresponding thesis or dissertation. To request a digital scan of the full text, please contact the Ruth Lilly Medical Library's Interlibrary Loan Department (rlmlill@iu.edu). / The distribution of variants of fourteen genetic and fourteen cytogenetic markers is investigated in samples from two Bedouin tribes, the Ajman (n = 52) and the Suluba (n = 52) and from the general population of Kuwait (n = 89). Typical of the many tribal populations in the Arabian peninsula, both Ajman and Suluba are socially isolated from each other. There is little documentation on the ancestral descent of both tribes. However, oral tradition regards Ajman as a deep-rooted Arabian tribe, while the Suluba is thought by some to have originated from the followers of the Crusade camps. The validity of the history of ancestral descent of both tribes is substantiated by a comparison of the distribution of several genetic markers with those of other peninsular communities, and by genetic distance measures between them, the peninsula Arabs of the South-West, and a European population (Italians). Distance measures were calculated by two different methods. Both genetic and cytogenetic marker data obtained from the three Kuwaiti communities contribute significantly to the sparse genetic information on the peninsular populations, and illustrate the degree of genetic microheterogeniety between these communities which was brought about by some social factors that caused their isolation. Gene flow from the neighboring East African populations is evident from the allelic distribution of certain systems such as the Duffy and the Rhesus. Evidence is presented which supports the speculation regarding the prevalence of K of the Kell system and M and S of the MNSs system in the indigeneous peninsular populations. A new salivary amylase isozyrne, Amy K1, was detected in a subject of probable Asiatic Indian descent sampled in Kuwait. Q-band chromosomal heteromorphisms were scored in the three sampled Kuwaiti communities. There was no statistical significance in the differences in frequencies of these heteromorphisms between the three samples. Genetic distances between the Kuwaiti communities and others from the literature were calculated on the basis of Q-band heteromorphic loci. The distances demonstrate the pitfalls in using absolute frequencies of chromosomal variants scored by different research groups for comparative studies. Large Y chromosome was present at high frequencies in the three Kuwaiti communities and was highest among members of the Ajman tribe. This finding suggests that the prevalance of large Y may be a distinguishing cytogenetic feature of the indigenous peninsular populations. Small Y was present in the sample from the general population, but not detected in either sample from the tribal communities. The differences in frequencies of Y chromosome variants between the three sampled communities was found to be statistically significant. Investigation of the 9qh region with the G-11 technique has shown an absence of inversions, partial and complete, of this heteromorphic region in the sample from the general population of Kuwait.

It is the purpose of this thesis to consider the growth and urbanization of the Texas population since 1880, with primary emphasis on changes which took place during the decade from 1940-1950. The problem involved, therefore, in the second part of this study is to determine the amount of urbanization which took place in Texas during the 1940-1950 decade, to determine the variations among the several regions and "size groups" of cities, and to describe some of the factors related to such increases and variations.

No description available.

No description available.

Asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases in Canada. It not only brings pain to more than 7.8% of Canadians but it also costs millions of dollars every year. In this project we study the influence that environmental factors have on asthma based on the data from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) conducted by Statistics Canada. A descriptive analysis is done first to get an initial understanding of the environmental factors' effects on asthma. Then we do a x2-test to test for the homogeneity of asthma distribution across the levels of each environmental factor. Most of the factors included in our study are significant except those representing whether living in the metropolitan areas of Montreal or Vancouver, the number of persons living in the household, and whether there are small children in the household. For ordinal variables we test for trend on asthma prevalence. The trend tests indicate that there are significant trends between asthma and most of the ordinal factors except for a few, including the number of bedrooms in the household and the number of cigarettes smoked daily by the daily smokers. Then odds ratio and relative risk analyses are done to obtain statistical insights on the relative risk of the factors. The result shows that living in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, urban areas, engaged in finance, community services, personal service, young, attend physical activities, born in Canada, white, single or widowed, separated, divorced, start smoking early, do not own the dwelling living in, female adult, male children, and overweight and underweight adult, are all contributing factors for asthma. To model and investigate the joint effect of factors on asthma prevalence, we use logistic and log-linear regression models. To avoid collinearity problems, a reduced number of predictors is used. The results suggest that environmental factors have a significant joint influence on asthma prevalence. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

In this dissertation, I deconstruct the commonly held assumption that the intrauterine device (IUD) is an unsafe and/or obsolete contraceptive method that has been used mostly to impose population control on women in developing countries. Simultaneously, I explore the changing meaning of the device over the last 40 years in varying socio-historical contexts. Capitalizing on the analytical tradition of science and technology studies that regards technology as socially constructed, I analyze the IUD as a technology that transformed through a series of material and discursive negotiations. Negotiations over the IUD took place in multiple layers, most notably in the social and political domains that defined the meaning of the contraceptive technology, but also in the domain of science, in which claims about the device's technical features and its relationship with the biological body were made. This work is divided into the examination of four major domains – global population politics, American contraceptive market, American antiabortion politics, and scientific research – within which the IUD took shape both materially and discursively. The historical development of the scientific research and discourse of IUDs are juxtaposed with the prevailing socio-political background to illustrate the intricate relationship between scientific research of contraceptive technology and the politics of fertility control. The final chapter addresses the agency of IUD users, introducing the ways in which women in developing countries have manipulated the IUD to achieve reproductive self-determination. / Ph. D.

Barriers to fish movement can cause aquatic habitat fragmentation by reducing the amount of available habitat. The primary goal of my research was to investigate applications of population genetic analysis tools as indicators of barrier effects on brook trout populations in fragmented subwatersheds. In chapter1, I tested the hypothesis that brook trout population genetic differentiation (FST) above and below barriers will differ in relation to barrier height and gradient. I also tested the hypothesis that average gene diversity per locus (H) and the numbers of alleles (A) differed between samples below and above each barrier. There was no significant difference in average number of alleles (A) or average gene diversity per locus (H) between the above- and below-barrier samples, but linear regression identified a statistically significant relationship between barrier height and FST values. Unrooted neighbor-joining consensus trees of Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards (1967) chord distances provided evidence of genetic differentiation between samples of resident brook trout above and below natural barriers. Additionally, average total allelic diversity (A), average gene diversity per locus (H), average number of private alleles per locus per sample, and total alleles per sample differed between Level III Ecoregions. In chapter 2 I tested the hypothesis that the presence of a barrier, total habitat potentially isolated above a barrier (km), road density, and percent forest cover within a subwatershed (USGS 6th-level Hydrologic Units) were significant habitat fragmentation factors affecting the effective population size (Ne) of brook trout in the Blue Ridge Level III Ecoregion. Multivariable linear regression indicated that total habitat above the barrier (km) and road density were significant variables retained in the model to predict Ne. In chapter 3, the objective of the study was to infer relationships between barriers and family structure in brook trout populations. Maximum likelihood analysis of pairwise kinship relationships between above- and below-barrier individuals indicated the presence of parent-offspring relationships between above- and below-barrier individuals at six sites in the Blue Ridge Level III Ecoregion and five sites in the Northern Lakes and Forests Level III Ecoregion, which indicated movement of individuals between the above- and below-barrier locations. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1948 K5 / Master of Science

The European Union has become a region of intense immigration and the movements of third country nationals from outside or within the territory of the Member States has jumped to the top of ECIEU political agenda. Important ECIEU measures have been adopted concernmg the most important aspects in the area of immigration since the late eighties. The movements of third country nationals have nonetheless been regulated by EC law, although incidentally, since the origin of the Communities. The analysis covers fifty years of Community immigration history and it studies the changes in the immigration movements themselves and, in particular, of their regulation under ECIEU law. The research focuses on the factors that have contributed and that are shaping the emerging European immigration policy in order to evaluate the real impact of old and, especially, new rules on racial and ethnic minority groups and women. An EU integrated policy covenng all aspects related to third country nationals does not exist but very important steps, consolidated in the Amsterdam Treaty, have been taken over the last decade (1989/1999). The strategy to adopt at EU level is not very clear or coherent due to the complexity of the area itself and because of the different approaches of the EU Institutions on the answer to give to immigration issues. It has been demonstrated that although some gaps remain in the labyrinth of ECIEU immigration rules, the main trend, imposed principally by the Member States, is towards the creation of a White Fortress Europe.