Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection causes achlorydria, depressed gastric acid barrier, impaired immune response and is suspected in bacterial overgrowth and diarrhoea. These features of the infection are known to cause significant malabsorption of nutrients and impairment of linear growth in children. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in children is known to be much higher in developing countries, especially among the lower socio-economic groups. The true prevalence of infection in urban children in Mexico and its impact on their growth are largely unknown. This study examined the prevalence of H. pylori infection in school children from an urban area in Northwest Mexico and attempted to identify the risk factors that predispose individuals to infection in childhood; as well as to relate the presence of this infection to growth of children. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 1997/98 in the poorest socio-economic sectors of the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, among 178 children aged 9 and 10 years. H. pylori status was determined in children by the 13C-urea breath test. Anthropometric (weight and height) and haemoglobin measurements along with analysis of faecal samples and a 24-hour dietary recall were carried out in each child. Family sociodemographic/socio-economic status and living conditions data were elicited from parents by interview via structured questionnaires. The overall prevalence rate of H. pylori infection for the children in Hermosillo as determined by this study was 47.1%. The findings indicate that rural-born father, number of siblings, the type of main water supply (one tap in the yard) and the sharing of bed by the study child are important risk factors for acquiring the H. pylori infection. A borderline significant but small effect of H. pylori infection on height for-age was observed in this study. H. pylori infection was found to be positively highly associated with Hymenolepis nana. No differences in mean energy, protein and iron intakes between H. pylori positive and negative children were observed. However, significant differences in the mean energy, protein and iron intakes were observed between boys and girls. H. pylori infection and enteric parasites were not significantly correlated with the presence of anaemia.

Las enteroparasitosis intestinales constituyen un problema de salud pública en Perú, debido a que estos parásitos pueden ingresar al organismo por vía oral y hábitos higiénico-sanitarios deficientes que facilitan su transmisión y conservación. Cuando la carga de dichos parásitos es considerablemente alta o se acompaña de alteraciones en la inmunidad del hospedero, se pueden producir complicaciones que comprometen seriamente la salud del paciente. Sabemos que el control farmacológico de las parasitosis es efectivo y seguro. No obstante, sin autocuidado y mantenimiento sostenible de buenas condiciones higiénico-sanitarias, no es posible su erradicación. Considerando lo mencionado anteriormente, desarrollaré la presente investigación en una población escolar de la Institución Educativa N° 6041 “Alfonso Ugarte” del distrito San Juan de Miraflores para determinar la prevalencia de parasitosis intestinales. Se eligió una muestra representativa conformada de 116 niños de 8 a 13 años. Las muestras fecales obtenidas fueron analizadas utilizando: examen macroscópico, método directo, método de Parodi Alcaraz y test de Graham. El 85.3% de los alumnos examinados resultaron parasitados. La incidencia parasitaria fue mayor en mujeres (86.8%) comparado a los hombres (83.6%). La frecuencia parasitaria de acuerdo al Monoparasitismo de los grupos taxonómicos fueron 35.3% del Phylum Amoebozoa, 3.4% del Phylum Metamonada, 3.4% del Phylum Platyhelminthes, 0.9% del Phylum Bigyra y 0.9% del Phylum Nematoda, con las especies Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, Hymenolepis nana, Blastocystis hominis y Enterobius vermicularis, respectivamente. La mayor frecuencia correspondiente al Biparasitismo fue la asociación de los Phyla Metamonada y Amoebozoa con 32.8%. La mayor frecuencia correspondiente al Triparasitismo fue la asociación de los Phyla Metamonada, Amoebozoa y Platyhelminthes con 1.7%. The intestinal enteroparasites constitute a public health problem in Peru, due to these parasites can enter the body by mouth and hygienic habits-poor health that facilitate its transmission and conservation. When the burden of such parasites is considerably high or is accompanied by alterations in the immunity of the host, it can produce complications which seriously compromise the health of the patient. We know that the pharmacological control of the parasitosis is effective and safe. However, self-care and sustainable maintenance of good hygienic and sanitary conditions, it is not possible to its eradication. Considering the above, I will develop this research in a school population of the Educational Institution N° 6041 "Alfonso Ugarte" of the district San Juan de Miraflores to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitism. I chosen a representative sample consisted of 116 children 8 to 13 years old. Stool samples obtained were analyzed using: macroscopic examination, direct method, Parodi Alcaraz’s method and Graham’s test. The 85.3% of the students examined were parasitized. The parasitic incidence was higher in women (86.8%) compared to men (83.6%). The frequency of parasites according the Monoparasitism of taxonomic group was 35.3% of the Phylum Amoebozoa, 3.4% of the Phylum Metamonada, 3.4% of the Phylum Platyhelminthes, 0.9% of the Phylum Bigyra and 0.9% of the Phylum Nematoda, with the species Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, Hymenolepis nana, Blastocystis hominis and Enterobius vermicularis, respectively. The highest frequency corresponding the Biparasitism was the association of the Phyla Metamonada and Amoebozoa with 32.8%. The highest frequency corresponding the Triparasitismo was the association of the Phyla Metamonada, Amoebozoa and Platyhelminthes with 1.7%.

L’incursion de l’Islam en Afrique subsaharienne à partir du IXe siècle, s’est opérée via le commerce transsaharien entre les peuples d’Afrique du Nord et ceux du Sahel. Ce contact entretenu par les caravanes commerciales entre les deux peuples a engendré l’islamisation progressive de la population hausaphone. Sous l’influence de l’arabe, plusieurs vocables sont introduits dans le lexique du hausa. Cet effet islamique s’accompagne d’une révolution dans la production de la littérature arabe-ajami. Grâce à l’adaptation de l’écriture ajami, Nana Asma’u, une polyglotte de renommée écrit au 18e siècle, plusieurs œuvres poétiques dont la plupart sont en langues - hausa, fulfulde et arabe. Sur la base de ces observations, cette thèse se propose d’analyser les emprunts lexicaux arabes dans les œuvres poétiques de l’auteur, et leur intégration dans la langue hausa. Sur le plan méthodologique, notre travail de recherche s’appuie sur la combinaison de deux méthodes : linguistique et statistique ; ce qui nous a permis d’analyser tous les phénomènes afférant au métissage linguistique et culturel dans les œuvre de Nana Asma’u. Notre corpus comprend 15 œuvres poétiques que nous avons lemmatisées en préalable aux calculs statistiques à l’aide du logiciel Excel. Les principaux résultats obtenus sur les formes graphiques, montrent une fréquence d’utilisation très élevée des emprunts arabes. L’association de l’analyse linguistique et des traitements informatiques, nous a permis ainsi de confirmer, de façon formelle et impartiale, que la plupart des emprunts les plus fréquents relèvent de domaines religieux, et donc liés aux lexiques de situation. / The incursion of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa from the 19th Century was operated through trans-Saharan commerce between the peoples of North Africa and those of the Sahel. This contact, maintained by the commercial caravans of these two peoples engendered the progressive islamisation of the Hausa-speaking populations. Under the influence of Arabic, several terms were introduced into Hausa lexicon. This Islamic effect comes with a revolution in the production of Arabic-Ajami literature. Thanks to the adaptation of Ajami writing, Nana Asma’u, a renowned polyglot, wrote several poetic works in the 18th Century, most of which are in the Hausa, Fulfulde and Arabic languages. On the basis of these observations, this thesis proposes to analyse the borrowed Arabic lexicon in the poetic works of the author, and their integration into the Hausa language. From the methodological perspective, our research work relies on a combination of two methods: linguistic and statistical; which enable us to analyse all the phenomena relating to linguistic and cultural hybridization in the works of Nana Asma’u. Our corpus is made up of poetic works that we have first of all lemmatized using statistical calculations with the help of Excel software. The principal results, obtained in the form graphs, indicate a frequency of very high usage of words borrowed from Arabic. The association of the linguistic and computer analyses enabled us to confirm, in a formal and impartial manner, that most of the frequent borrowings fall under religious domains, and as such linked to situational vocabulary.

Master of Science / Department of Biology / Carolyn J. Ferguson / The genus Phlox L. presents intriguing opportunities for systematics research, and P. nana is of particular interest. Phlox nana occurs chiefly in mountains of the Chihuahuan desert to northern New Mexico, and it exhibits much morphological variation across its range. Historically, this taxon has been recognized as a single species (sometimes with infraspecific taxa), or as several species. Perhaps most interesting, variation in ploidy level (cytotypic variation) has been evidenced for P. nana. This research employed flow cytometry methods in conjunction with chromosome counts to document patterns of cytotypic variation. Intensive fieldwork in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas enabled excellent sampling, and evaluation of ploidy level for 76 populations was achieved. Diploid and tetraploid chromosome counts were made (four diploid counts; five tetraploid counts), and flow cytometry was conducted on all populations, providing evidence for diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid populations. Polyploids were found to occur in many geographical areas, and in some regions, diploids and polyploids occur in close geographical proximity (e.g., within both the Davis Mountains and the Chisos Mountains of west Texas). Genome size data are presented (with discussion of unusual populations), and geographic patterns of cytotypic variation are presented and discussed. Patterns are also briefly considered with respect to morphology and taxonomy: cytotypic variation does not readily align with historical recognition of taxonomic variation, and this work sets the stage for ongoing, detailed morphometric study. Research on particular species of Phlox benefits from an understanding of a broad phylogenetic context, and low copy nuclear DNA regions are an important resource for phylogeny development. This research further evaluated part of the NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (idhB) for its usefulness in inferring relationships in Phlox. Samples were PCR amplified for idhB and cloned, and resulting sequences were added to a larger set of idhB sequence data previously developed in the lab. A total of 163 samples were included, and Bayesian Inference and Maximum Parsimony analyses were conducted for complete data sets. Phylogenetic findings are discussed in light of previous work based on chloroplast and high copy nuclear DNA regions, and challenges and utility of using idhB are discussed.

Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Lengua y Literatura Hispánica mención Literatura / El presente informe es fruto de lecturas, análisis y debates que surgieron durante el desarrollo del seminario de grado “Temas de la literatura Hispanoamericana contemporánea”. El cómo la literatura abarca el problema de la historia y la sociedad sin dejar fuera su propia especificidad, ha sido una de las constantes problemáticas, que, diferentes escritores han trabajado a lo largo del siglo pasado. El cuestionamiento, acerca de rol del escritor como ente activo en los procesos sociales, políticos y culturales, logró que la producción literaria de la época, se convirtiera en una nueva forma de ver y pensar la sociedad. Es por lo anterior, que en este informe se eligió trabajar la novela La Nana y el iceberg de Ariel Dorfman. A través de ésta, Dorfman se encarga de develar y denunciar la falsa modernización que se lleva a cabo en el Chile de la Transición.

abstract: Oral history methodologies are used to conduct fifteen interviews with Martha Akesi Ndaarko Sennie-Tumi over the course of three months. Research responded to the following questions: How do African women defy master narratives? When do African women defy master narratives and move from the margins to the center? What roles do African women take on to defy master narratives and why? To what extent does the concept of malezile (women who stand firm) address human rights? Twelve stories of defiance (three of which are folktales) are analyzed for recurring themes, concepts and motifs. Research showed that African women defy master narratives when the system worked to their detriment through the Nana Esi archetype. The stories also showed that women adopt nontraditional roles during defiance by using whatever means available to them at the time of defiance. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies 2012

No description available.

This thesis presents a research of Swedes view on sex tourism in Thailand. This research is showing how Swedes sees sex tourism in Thailand and what kind of thoughts they have about it. This research also shows the Swedish view on sex tourism in Thailand and how it differs from the view of the Swedish media and their opinion about the subject. Furthermore, this research shows that the view of this subject differs depending on the respondents’ experience of travelling in Thailand. It becomes more important to study this subject with increasingly numbers of Swedes travelling to Thailand and more people find a partner in the country. This has led to a growing minority of Thai people in Sweden, which has to live with the prejudices of the Swedes. That is why it is so important to show what this prejudices are and why they exist. This topic is rather hard to study because of the sensitivity of the subject as well as people’s fixed opinions regarding this subject. It is easy to make politics of the subject because of these strong opinions, but we have tried to stay away from these already fixed opinions and instead tried to observe other peoples fixed opinions and how these fixed opinions effecting Thai women living in Sweden. It is important to understand how people’s prejudices affect the view of a country especially when it comes to tourism development.

<p>Sialic acid synthase (NeuB) is a key enzyme in bacterial biosynthesis of the sialic acid <em>N</em>-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuNAc). It catalyzes the addition of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to <em>N</em>-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) in the presence of a divalent cation such as Mn²⁺. We have explored the inhibition of NeuB by an oxacarbenium ion mimic, NeuNAc oxime, and hydroxylamine (NH₂OH). NeuNAc oxime shows slow-binding inhibition with a binding half-life of 2.5 h and an inhibition constant (<em>K</em>_i^*) of 1.6(± 0.7) pM. Even though NeuNAc oxime binds NeuB with high affinity, there remains approximately 10% residual activity even after extended pre-incubation with high inhibitor concentrations. In contrast, in the presence of substrates, when NeuB was actively catalyzing NeuNAc synthesis, complete inhibition by NeuNAc oxime was observed within 6 h. This inhibition profile is similar to NH₂OH; which has previously been shown to elicit complete, time-dependent inhibition. We propose the existence of two NeuB conformations: an asymmetric idle state conformation (NeuB^IS), in which NeuNAc oxime is able to bind to only one monomer of this dimeric enzyme, and a second conformation, running state NeuB (NeuB^RS), which is completely inhibited due to either NeuNAc oxime binding to the second monomer, or the dimer adopting a conformation in which the unbound monomer is inactive. Experiments with [1-¹⁴C]PEP showed that in the presence of large excess of substrate, inhibition occurred faster than with a lower excess. This suggests that a sustained buildup of NeuB^{RS<strong> </strong>}is required for complete inhibition.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)