The growing population of the United States is linked to the increasing migration of individuals from other countries. With migration comes the development of cross-cultural and interracial romantic relationships, many leading to marriages. This qualitative grounded theory study sought to understand how a migrant partner's adjustment process, acculturation, contributes to cross-cultural marriages. The main research question and purpose of this study was to investigate the role of acculturation in marital satisfaction among mixed Caucasian and Asian American heterosexual couples. This study utilized multiple data sources and a purposive sampling of 11 mixed Asian and Caucasian heterosexual married couples, with one partner who identified themselves as being Caucasian and U.S. born, and the other as Asian American and an immigrant to the United States. Data were coded and analyzed to identify themes and patterns that emerged from the participants' experiences. The study revealed the following emergent themes representing the couples' common acculturative stressors: (a) challenges related to English language proficiency, (b) communication styles differences, (c) cultural learning, and (d) difficulties due to the lack of social support. The findings of this study provide marriage and family counselors with important data related to how married couples experience acculturation as well as the unique stressors associated with a migrating partner's process. Implications for positive social change include information related to the development of interventions to address common acculturative stressors identified during this study, as well as data to support clinicians and clients when identifying appropriate coping strategies.

Rationale Cognitive deficits are now recognised as a major symptom of schizophrenia with a number of studies reporting profound deficits in cognitive function in both chronic and first episode patients. Recent advances in cognitive remediation therapy have provided the opportunity for patients to improve their cognitive function and therefore improve their functional outcome. Aim The aim of the present study was to investigate cognitive deficits using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB®) in first episode psychosis and chronic schizophrenia patients. In the first episode population the effect of ethnicity on cognition was also examined. In the chronic schizophrenia study comparisons between severity of deficits with first episode psychosis patients were also made. The effects of cognitive remediation therapy were also examined in a sample of first episode patients. Methods A total of 35 patients and 30 healthy controls were recruited into the first episode study, 17 patients and 17 controls into the chronic schizophrenia study and 11 patients into the cognitive remediation study. The first episode psychosis patients were recruited from the Bradford and Airedale Early Intervention Service and the chronic patients from the Leeds Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The control subjects were matched as closely as possible in terms of intelligence and demographics to the patient groups. The Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) was used to estimate subjects pre-morbid IQ. The severity of symptoms was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). All subjects who took part in the study completed a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB®. Patients in the cognitive remediation study participated in group therapy sessions using X-cog®. Results There were no significant differences found between There were no significant differences found between patients and controls in relation to intelligence or demographics in all studies. The effect of ethnicity was shown to be not significant in the first episode study. Results show that patients performed significantly worse than controls across all iv cognitive domains tested in all studies. A correlation between negative symptoms and executive function was found in both first episode and chronic schizophrenia patients. Comparisons between first episode psychosis and chronic schizophrenia patients in cognition showed no significant differences, however significant differences were found in levels of negative symptoms and age between the two groups with chronic patients scoring higher on negative symptoms and being older. In the cognitive remediation study a significant improvement was observed in patients in the domain of executive function and a reduction in negative symptoms following completion of the intervention. Conclusion First episode and chronic schizophrenia patients display significant cognitive deficits across all domains when tested using the CANTAB®. Some of these deficits appear to be independent of the length of the illness but dependent on negative symptoms. This study demonstrates that cognitive deficits exist across all patient groups regardless of age, gender, pre-morbid IQ, years in education and ethnicity. Cognitive remediation therapy has also been shown to be effective in improving cognitive functioning in patients.

Background: Fibulin-1, an extracellular matrix component and mediator in cardiac fibrosis, is expressed in cardiac valves, heart muscles and blood vessels and may contribute to different cardiovascular pathological conditions such as hypertension, aortic valve stenosis, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease. The most conspicuous functions of fibulin-1 include cell adhesion and cell migration within the extracellular matrix (ECM). This was found to reflect vascular dysfunction contributing to the development of fibrosis in the myocardium by means of changes in the ECM, possibly as a result of inflammation. Inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin have been investigated over the years for the role they play in the inflammatory processes. However, one inflammatory mediator, soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), only emerged as a potential biomarker in the development of sclerotic disease. SuPAR is a soluble bioactive form of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) secreted by inflammatory cells such as macrophages, endothelial cells and monocytes. The most profound functions of suPAR such as cell migration and cell adhesion contribute to the development of diseases such as infection, autoimmune diseases, cancer and atherosclerosis. Motivation and aim: This study was motivated by an awareness of the limited data on the potential link between fibulin-1 and suPAR, along with other markers of inflammation (CRP and albumin). We aimed to compare the levels of a marker of cardiac fibrosis (fibulin-1) and inflammatory mediators (suPAR, CRP and albumin) in African and Caucasian men and women. A second aim was to explore fibulin-1 and its potential association with these inflammatory markers independent of haemodynamic and metabolic risk factors in a bi-ethnic cohort from South Africa. Methodology: Data from the cross-sectional SAfrEIC study (South African study regarding the role of Sex, Age and Ethnicity on Insulin sensitivity and Cardiovascular function) were used, which initially included 756 participants. Our study population comprised 290 Africans (men: n=130; women: n=160) and 343 Caucasians (men: n=160; women: n=183). We excluded HIV-infected participants (n=115) as well as those with missing data (n=8). Traditional cardiovascular measurements together with the relevant biochemical analyses were done. T-tests and Chi-square tests were used to compare means and proportions between groups, respectively. Single and partial correlations were performed to determine the relationship of fibulin-1 with suPAR, CRP and albumin, with adjustments for age. SuPAR, CRP and albumin were divided into tertiles to explore the association with fibulin-1 levels, while adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Multiple regression analysis was performed to explore independent associations. Results: Participants were divided into African and Caucasian men and women due to significant interactions of the main effects of ethnicity and gender on the association of fibulin-1 with suPAR (ethnicity: F(633)=7.29; p<0.001 and gender: F(633)=7.99; p<0.001). Fibulin-1 levels were higher in African men (p=0.010), whereas CRP was higher in African women (p<0.001) compared to their Caucasian counterparts. In both gender groups suPAR levels were higher and albumin lower in Africans compared to Caucasians (p<0.006). In single regression analyses, a positive correlation existed between fibulin-1 and suPAR in African (r=0.19; p=0.028) and Caucasian men (r=0.37; p<0.001), also in African (r=0.193; p=0.028) and Caucasian women (r=0.14; p=0.036). After adjustments were applied for age, this correlation remained in African (r=0.23; p=0.010) and Caucasian men (r=0.22; p=0.005) only. An inverse correlation was found between fibulin-1 and albumin in African men (r=-0.28; p=0.002), but not in Caucasian men (r=-0.09; p=0.245). No significant correlation was found between fibulin-1 and CRP in any group. Forward stepwise regression analysis was performed in men and the previous associations between fibulin-1 and suPAR were confirmed in African and Caucasian men; along with the inverse relationship of fibulin-1 with albumin (Adj. R2=0.217; β=–0.210; p=0.013) in African men only. Conclusion: Fibulin-1 was positively associated with suPAR in African and Caucasian men, but not in women. We also found fibulin-1 to be negatively associated with albumin in African men only. These results are indicative of the presence of potential subclinical low-grade inflammation as depicted by suPAR within the extracellular matrix. This low-grade inflammation may contribute to the potential onset of cardiac fibrosis or vascular sclerosis among these South African men with lower albumin levels. / MSc (Physiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Background: Fibulin-1, an extracellular matrix component and mediator in cardiac fibrosis, is expressed in cardiac valves, heart muscles and blood vessels and may contribute to different cardiovascular pathological conditions such as hypertension, aortic valve stenosis, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease. The most conspicuous functions of fibulin-1 include cell adhesion and cell migration within the extracellular matrix (ECM). This was found to reflect vascular dysfunction contributing to the development of fibrosis in the myocardium by means of changes in the ECM, possibly as a result of inflammation. Inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin have been investigated over the years for the role they play in the inflammatory processes. However, one inflammatory mediator, soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), only emerged as a potential biomarker in the development of sclerotic disease. SuPAR is a soluble bioactive form of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) secreted by inflammatory cells such as macrophages, endothelial cells and monocytes. The most profound functions of suPAR such as cell migration and cell adhesion contribute to the development of diseases such as infection, autoimmune diseases, cancer and atherosclerosis. Motivation and aim: This study was motivated by an awareness of the limited data on the potential link between fibulin-1 and suPAR, along with other markers of inflammation (CRP and albumin). We aimed to compare the levels of a marker of cardiac fibrosis (fibulin-1) and inflammatory mediators (suPAR, CRP and albumin) in African and Caucasian men and women. A second aim was to explore fibulin-1 and its potential association with these inflammatory markers independent of haemodynamic and metabolic risk factors in a bi-ethnic cohort from South Africa. Methodology: Data from the cross-sectional SAfrEIC study (South African study regarding the role of Sex, Age and Ethnicity on Insulin sensitivity and Cardiovascular function) were used, which initially included 756 participants. Our study population comprised 290 Africans (men: n=130; women: n=160) and 343 Caucasians (men: n=160; women: n=183). We excluded HIV-infected participants (n=115) as well as those with missing data (n=8). Traditional cardiovascular measurements together with the relevant biochemical analyses were done. T-tests and Chi-square tests were used to compare means and proportions between groups, respectively. Single and partial correlations were performed to determine the relationship of fibulin-1 with suPAR, CRP and albumin, with adjustments for age. SuPAR, CRP and albumin were divided into tertiles to explore the association with fibulin-1 levels, while adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Multiple regression analysis was performed to explore independent associations. Results: Participants were divided into African and Caucasian men and women due to significant interactions of the main effects of ethnicity and gender on the association of fibulin-1 with suPAR (ethnicity: F(633)=7.29; p<0.001 and gender: F(633)=7.99; p<0.001). Fibulin-1 levels were higher in African men (p=0.010), whereas CRP was higher in African women (p<0.001) compared to their Caucasian counterparts. In both gender groups suPAR levels were higher and albumin lower in Africans compared to Caucasians (p<0.006). In single regression analyses, a positive correlation existed between fibulin-1 and suPAR in African (r=0.19; p=0.028) and Caucasian men (r=0.37; p<0.001), also in African (r=0.193; p=0.028) and Caucasian women (r=0.14; p=0.036). After adjustments were applied for age, this correlation remained in African (r=0.23; p=0.010) and Caucasian men (r=0.22; p=0.005) only. An inverse correlation was found between fibulin-1 and albumin in African men (r=-0.28; p=0.002), but not in Caucasian men (r=-0.09; p=0.245). No significant correlation was found between fibulin-1 and CRP in any group. Forward stepwise regression analysis was performed in men and the previous associations between fibulin-1 and suPAR were confirmed in African and Caucasian men; along with the inverse relationship of fibulin-1 with albumin (Adj. R2=0.217; β=–0.210; p=0.013) in African men only. Conclusion: Fibulin-1 was positively associated with suPAR in African and Caucasian men, but not in women. We also found fibulin-1 to be negatively associated with albumin in African men only. These results are indicative of the presence of potential subclinical low-grade inflammation as depicted by suPAR within the extracellular matrix. This low-grade inflammation may contribute to the potential onset of cardiac fibrosis or vascular sclerosis among these South African men with lower albumin levels. / MSc (Physiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The perception is that inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) are rare, but the reality is that more than 600 lEMs are now recognized. The organic aciduria, 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC) deficiency arises when 3-methylcrotonyl-Coenzyme A (CoA) carboxylase that participates in the fourth step of the leucine catabolism is defective. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) based screening programmes in North America, Europe and Australia, showed that MCC deficiency is the most frequent organic aciduria detected, with an average frequency of 1:50 000. Therefore MCC deficiency is considered an emerging disease in these regions. The incidence of MCC deficiency in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) is not yet known. However, one 48 year old male Caucasian individual (HGS) was diagnosed suffering from mild MCC deficiency, since elevated levels of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid, 3- hydroxyisovalerylcarnitine, 3-methylcrotonylglycine was present in his urine. Several groups are currently working on various aspects of this emerging disease with the focus on the molecular characterisation of MCC deficiency. In the RSA no molecular based diagnostic method which complements MS/MS screening programmes have yet been implemented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to implement the necessary techniques for the molecular characterisation of MCC deficiency, the determination of the sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) of mccA and mccB subunits to determine which mutation(s) are present in the South African MCC deficient patient. For the implementation of the molecular characterisation, a two-pronged approached was used to characterize MCC of a MCC non-deficient individual (CFC). This approach included the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of the ORFs of the associated genes [mccA (19 exons) and mccB (17 exons] and the PCR amplification of selected (genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (gDNA) regions (exons mccA8, mccA11 , mccB5, mccB6 and mccB5-intron 5-6 exon 6 (mccB5-6) which have been found to have mutations associated with MCC deficiency in Caucasians. The sequence analyses produced surprising results of the amplified ORFs (CFCmccA and CFCmccB) of the MCC non-deficient individual CFC. A non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (1391C→A, H464P) associated with MCC deficiency (Gallardo et al., 2001) was identified in the CFCmccA subunit. Another SNP (1368G→A, A456A) recently listed in GenBank was observed in the amplified CFCmccB ORF. No significant novel variations or described mutations were identified in the amplified genomic regions mccA8, mccA11 ,mccB5, mccB6 and mccB5-6. The implemented molecular approach was used to characterise MCC of our MCC deficient patient (HGS). The patient did not have any mutation in the four selected exons mccA8, mccA11, mccB5, mccB6 or the genomic region mccB5-6. The RT-PCR amplification of both ORFs (HGSmccA and HGSmccB) resulted in multiple amplicons. Gel extracted amplicons of the expected size were sequenced. Of the 36 exons, 34 exons were sequenced. This includes all 19 exons of HGSmccA and 15 of 17 exons of HGSmccB (exons 1-6 and exons 9-17). The non-synonymous SNP (1391C→A, H464P) detected in CFCmccA (MCC non-deficient individual), seems to be present in the HGSmccA subunit of the MCC deficient individual, HGS. The HGSmccB amplicons could not be entirely sequenced. However, the region exon 1-6 and 9-17 was sequenced but no described or novel mutations were identified. The lack of sequence data of region exon 7-8 led to an incomplete molecular characterisation of the MCC deficiency in HGS. In conclusion, the basic methods and techniques for the molecular characterisation of MCC deficient patients have been implemented locally. A few additional sequencing primers need to be designed to cover mccB7 and mccB8 as well as the entire coding and non-coding strands of each MCC gene (mccA and mccB). The primers for RT-PCR of both mccA and mccB need to be further refined to ensure better specificity. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Biochemistry))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:49:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-04-28. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-08-11T03:25:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 Publico-035.pdf: 841601 bytes, checksum: 09b2f23ec93052490c588d4826e2d818 (MD5) / Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Psicofarmacologia (AFIP) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Os genes PER3 e CLOCK são importantes componentes do sistema molecular circadiano dos mamíferos. Vários estudos têm demonstrado existir uma associação entre polimorfismos nestes genes relógio e fenótipos circadianos nas diferentes populações. No entanto, as diferenças no padrão da freqüência alélica e a distribuição genotípica, são sistematicamente observadas nos estudos com diferentes grupos étnicos. Para investigar e comparar o padrão de distribuição em uma amostra de populações asiáticas e caucasianas que vivem no Brasil, utilizando a técnica de PCR, avaliou-se dois polimorfismos bem estudados nos genes relógio: o (VNTR) no gene PER3, um polimorfismo de número variável de repetições em tandem; e um polimorfismo com troca de um único nucleotídeo (SNP ) no gene CLOCK. O objetivo deste estudo foi, nos humanos, procurar pistas sobre os processos evolutivos relacionados aos ritmos circadianos, tendo sido selecionados 109 descendentes de asiáticos e 135 de caucasianos. As freqüências do alelo curto (4 repetições) no gene PER3 e do alelo T no gene CLOCK (respectivamente 0,86 e 0,84) entre os asiáticos foram significativamente maiores do que entre os caucasianos (respectivamente 0,69 e 0,71). Os resultados confirmaram diretamente a distribuição diferente destes polimorfismos entre os grupos étnicos caucasianos e asiáticos. Dadas as diferenças genéticas observadas entre os grupos, tornou-se evidente que, primeiro, as variações étnicas poderiam ter implicações para a interpretação dos resultados em estudos de associação do ritmo circadiano e, segundo, questiona quais foram as condições evolutivas que moldaram essas variações genéticas observadas nos genes relógio. / The Period 3 and Clock genes are important components of the mammalian molecular circadian system. Studies have shown association between polymorphisms in these clock genes and circadian phenotypes in different populations. Nevertheless, differences in the pattern of allele frequency and genotyping distribution are systematically observed in studies with different ethnic groups. To investigate and compare the pattern of distribution in a sample of Asian and Caucasian populations living in Brazil, we evaluated two well-studied polymorphisms in the clock genes: a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in PER3 and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in CLOCK. The aim of this investigation was to search for clues about human evolutionary processes related to circadian rhythms. We selected 109 Asian and 135 Caucasian descendants. The frequencies of the shorter allele (4 repeats) in the PER3 gene and the T allele in the CLOCK gene among Asians (0.86 and 0.84, respectively) were significantly higher than among Caucasians (0.69 and 0.71, respectively). Our results directly confirmed the different distribution of these polymorphisms between the Asian and Caucasian ethnic groups. Given the genetic differences found between groups, two points became evident: first, ethnic variations may have implications for the interpretation of results in circadian rhythm association studies, and second, the question may be raised about which evolutionary conditions shaped these genetic clock variations. / FAPESP/CEPID: 98/14303-3 / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

Every child in America is entitled to a free public education; however, racial disparities in academics and discipline continue to grow in America’s school system (Glock et al., 2019; Muñiz, 2019). These racial disparities begin in preschool, following the students throughout their school years. African American students, specifically African American males, are three times more likely than their Caucasian peers to be suspended in preschool (CRDC, 2016; Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Suspension at an early age correlates with students entering juvenile detentions, prisons and incompletion of schooling (Love, 2014; Meek & Gilliam,2016; Muñiz, 2019). Culturally responsive teaching and classroom management practices are a solution to reduce overrepresentation in exclusionary discipline practices; however, many educators remain unprepared to teach minority students (Muñiz, 2019; Taylor & Wendt, 2023). This research study used an exploratory mixed methods design to examine the associations between culturally responsive classroom management self-efficacy scores and preschool teachers’ privilege scores. Associations between race and privilege scores and between culturally responsive classroom management self-efficacy scores and teacher demographics were also examined. Data was collected and analyzed in two phases. In Phase I, 471 teachers from public school classroom, Head Start, and private preschool classrooms completed a survey combining the Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Scale (Siwatu et al.,2017) and a Privilege Test (McIntosh, 1990). In Phase II, the researcher chose six preschool teachers (two each from public, Head Start, and private preschool classrooms) to participate in a semi-structured interview. Results indicated a significant negative correlation between teacher privilege scores and teacher culturally responsive classroom management self-efficacy scores, r(471) = -.171, p < .000. Significant associations were also found between culturally responsive self-efficacy classroom management and race, teacher work experience, educational background and educational site. Qualitative results indicated that all interviewees agreed culturally responsive practices include all children’s cultural background, values, and experiences. Interviewees said that culturally responsive classroom management should be a necessity in the classroom. They felt that the absence of minority teachers is harmful to all students and that professional development should be a requirement. Results suggest that there are benefits to including culturally responsive classroom management models in teacher education programs and professional development to prepare all teachers with the skills to aid the growing, diverse population of students.

No description available.

Ce travail porte sur les relatives dans les langues de l’aire Caucase – Anatolie de l’Est – Iran de l’Ouest dans une perspective aréale. Cette aire est connue pour concentrer une importante diversité génétique et typologique, avec une cinquantaine de langues appartenant à six familles distinctes : caucasique du Nord-Est, caucasique du Nord-Ouest, caucasique du Sud, turcique, indo-européenne et sémitique. Un grand nombre de ces langues sont en situation de contact et peuvent potentiellement s’influencer les unes les autres. Les relatives constituent une caractéristique intéressante à étudier dans une telle perspective car les constructions ayant fonction de relative peuvent varier selon nombreux paramètres d’une langue à l’autre ou au sein d’une même langue (position de la relative, finitude du verbe, etc.) ; chaque valeur possible pour un paramètre donné étant un trait pouvant potentiellement se diffuser. La première partie de cette thèse consiste en une description détaillée des stratégies de relativisation des langues de l’aire. Diverses stratégies sont identifiées, dont certaines couramment mentionnées dans la littérature, mais d’autres également plus atypiques du point de vue typologique. La deuxième partie consiste en une analyse des données décrites dans la première partie : après avoir identifié de manière précise les paramètres de variation et leurs différentes valeurs possibles parmi les stratégies disponibles de l’aire (environ 40 paramètres, 80 sous-paramètres et plus de 200 valeurs possibles), plusieurs zones géographiques sont mises en évidence où une même stratégie ou une même valeur pour un paramètre donné sont partagées par des langues non nécessairement apparentées génétiquement. Pour plusieurs de ces zones, il semble s’agir d’un phénomène de convergence, étant donné que les langues concernées divergent de leurs familles génétiques respectives et/ou le trait ou la stratégie partagé(e) est atypique. Pour finir, plusieurs facteurs pouvant intervenir dans la diffusion ou non d’une stratégie ou d’un trait linguistique sont suggérés. / This work deals with relative clauses in an areal perspective, focusing on languages of Caucasus – Eastern Anatolia – Western Iran area. This area is known to display an important linguistic diversity (genetic as well as typological) with about fifty languages belonging to six distinct families: North-East Caucasian, North-West Caucasian, South-Caucasian, Turkic, Indo-European and Semitic. Most of these languages are in contact and may influence each other. Besides, relative clauses constitute an interesting field to investigate in an areal perspective, given that the constructions used as relative clauses may vary according to numerous parameters, crosslinguistically or within the same language (e.g., position of the relative clause, finiteness of the verbal form, etc.); each value for a given parameter is a feature that may possibly diffuse across languages.The first part of this work is a fine-grained description of the relativization strategies available in the area. Various strategies are identified. The area displays all strategies commonly mentioned in the literature, as well as some typologically less common strategies.The second part of the work is an analysis of the data. After identifying all variation parameters and their different values in the strategies available in the area (i.e., about 40 main variation parameters, 80 sub-parameters and more than 200 potential values), several geographical areas are highlighted where the same strategy or the same value for a given parameter is shared by languages that are not necessarily genetically related. For some of these areas, it seems that a convergence phenomena is involved given that languages may diverge with this respect from their respective genealogical families and/or the shared feature or strategy is typologically uncommon. Finally, some factors that could be involved in the occurrence or not of a language-contact induced change are suggested. / Bu tezde bölgesel bir açıdan Kafkas – Doğu Anadolu – Batı İran bölgesinde konuşulan dillerde sıfat işlevli yan tümceler inceleniyor. Hem genetik hem de tipolojik olarak dilsel zenginliği ile tanınan bu bölgede günümüzde altı farklı aileden (Kuzeydoğu Kafkas dilleri, Kuzeybatı Kafkas dilleri, Güney Kafkas dilleri, Türk dilleri, Hint-Avrupa dilleri, Sami dilleri) elliyi aşkın dil konuşulmaktadır. Bu dillerin çoğu birbirleri ile temas halindeler ve birbilerini etkileyebiliyorlar. Bu bakımdan, sıfat işlevli yan tümce olarak kullanılan yapıların diller arasında, hatta aynı dil içinde dahi birçok parametreye göre çeşitlilik gösterdiğini (örneğin yan tümcenin nitelediği ada göre konumu, yan tümcedeki fiil şekli (tam donanımlı ya da sıfat-fiil oluşu), vb.), ve bu parametrelerin alabileceği değerlerin bir dilden diğerine yayılabilen bir nitelikte olduğunu göz önüne alırsak, sıfat işlevli yan tümcelerin bölgesel ve karşılaştırmalı bir açıdan ele alınabilecek zengin bir çalışma konusu olduğu belirgin hale gelmektedir. Tezin ilk kısmında, adı geçen bölgede konuşulan dillerdeki sıfat işlevli yan tümce yapıları ayrıntılı bir şekilde belgeleniyor. Bu belgeleme literatürde sıkça bahsi geçen alışılmış yapıların yanı sıra çok bilinmeyen, atipik yapıları da gün yüzüne çıkarıyor.Tezin ikinci kısmında ise birinci kısımda belgelenen veriler çözümleniyor. Sıfat işlevli yan tümcelere ait tüm parametreleri ve bu parametrelerin alabileceği farklı değerleri (toplamda yaklaşık 40 ana parametre, 80 alt-parametre ve 200’den fazla olası değer) saptadıktan sonra, aynı yapıyı ya da belli bir parametreye ait aynı değeri kullanan fakat genetik açıdan birbiri ile ilişkisi olmayan dillerin oluşturduğu birtakım coğrafi alan tespit ediliyor. Bu alanların bazısında saptanan diller, kullandıkları sıfat işlevli yan tümce yapıları veya bu yapılardaki bazı parametrelerin aldığı değerler bakımından genetik olarak ilişkili oldukları dillerden farklılık gösterdiklerinden ve/veya kullandıkları yapıların tipolojik olarak alışılmış olmadıklarından dolayı, bu belirtilen alanlarda bir yöneşme (convergence) meydana gelme olasılığı yüksektir. Son olarak da bir yapının ya da belli bir parametre değerinin yayılıp yayılmamasına sebep olabilecek bir kaç etken öneriliyor.

Background: Barrier creams are applied to the surface of the skin to form a barrier that aims to prevent the penetration of irritants and allergens through the skin surface. Several inconsistencies and controversies exist in literature regarding the effect that barrier creams may have on skin barrier function. Various skin surface parameters are used to evaluate the effect that the barrier creams have on skin barrier function. These parameters include transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin hydration and skin surface pH. Total skin thickness may be assessed as a variable on its own. Differences may exist in skin surface parameters when comparing African participants with Caucasian participants. Aim: The specific aim of this research was to evaluate the short-term1 effects of selected barrier creams on skin barrier function. Note 1: The words short-term are used in this study as each barrier cream is only tested over a period of 8 hours and not tested over a long term period of months or years. Method: Forty two non-smoking participants were included and tested in this study, of which 21 were African and the rest Caucasian. TEWL, skin hydration and skin surface pH were used to evaluate the differences in the effect of two different barrier creams (Reinol Solvgard and Momar Chex) on skin barrier function. TEWL was measured by making use of a closed chamber Vapometer (Deflin Technology Ltd., Kuopio, Finland), skin hydration using a Corneometer® CM 825 and skin surface pH using a pH meter probe (Courage and Khazaka Electronic Kӧln, Germany). A micro-pipette was used to drip a standard volume of 20 μl of ultrapure water on the skin surface before the researcher placed the pH meter probe onto the skin surface. Total skin thickness was measured by making use of ultrasound (Ultrascan 22 - TBS0061B) (Courage and Khazaka Electronic Kӧln, Germany). Three consecutive measurements were taken on the mid-forearm and the palm of the experimental arm. After baseline values were measured, 5 ml of the selected barrier cream was applied to the experimental arm. The barrier cream (selected for the day) was reapplied after 2, 4 and 6 hours and measurements were taken every 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours. The total skin thickness was measured at time zero and at 8 hours. Results: TEWL: For both barrier creams, statistical significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found between TEWL on the palms of African participants and Caucasian participants. Skin hydration: Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were obtained with regard to mid-forearm skin hydration when comparing Reinol Solvgard with Momar Chex (this was applicable to both racial groups). A statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was obtained with regard to mid-forearm skin hydration when comparing African participants with Caucasian participants (this was only applicable to Reinol Solvgard). Statistical significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were obtained with regard to skin hydration palm when comparing Reinol Solvgard with Momar Chex (this was applicable to both racial groups). Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were obtained with regards to skin hydration palm when comparing African participants with Caucasian participants (this was applicable to both barrier creams). Skin surface pH: A statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was obtained with regard to pH of the mid-forearm when comparing Reinol Solvgard with Momar Chex (this was applicable to only the African participants). A statistical significance (p ≤ 0.05) was obtained with regards to skin surface pH mid-forearm when comparing African participants with Caucasian participants (this was applicable to Momar Chex barrier cream only). A statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was obtained with regards to the pH of the palm when comparing Reinol Solvgard with Momar Chex (this was only applicable to the African racial group). Conclusion: Using skin surface parameters, it can be concluded that Momar Chex barrier cream elicited more positive effects on skin barrier function than Reinol Solvgard barrier cream. This may be ascribed to the fact that both barrier creams lowered TEWL (positive effect), Reinol Solvgard lowered skin hydration (negative effect) whereas, Momar Chex increased the skin hydration (positive effect) and both barrier creams increased skin surface pH (negative effect). Furthermore, the objectives of this study were reached as (a) short-term effects on skin surface parameters were identified between African versus Caucasian participants, (b) significances were observed between the two barrier creams (Momar Chex and Reinol Solvgard) by making use of skin surface parameters and (c) general increases and or decreases were observed in skin surface parameters over a short term period of 8 hours. / MSc (Occupational Hygiene), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015