African Americans in Iowa, 2010

Produced by the State Data Center of Iowa for the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. It is an annual snapshot of the demographic profile of the African American population in Iowa.

African Americans in Iowa, 2011

Produced by the State Data Center of Iowa for the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. It is an annual snapshot of the demographic profile of the African American population in Iowa.

African Americans in Iowa, 2012

Produced by the State Data Center of Iowa for the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. It is an annual snapshot of the demographic profile of the African American population in Iowa.

African Americans in Iowa, 2013

Produced by the State Data Center of Iowa for the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. It is an annual snapshot of the demographic profile of the African American population in Iowa.

African Americans in Iowa, 2014

Produced by the State Data Center of Iowa for the Iowa Commission on the Status of African-Americans. It is an annual snapshot of the demographic profile of the African American population in Iowa.

Cabinet Card of African Canadian by Photographer W. J. Rea, of Windsor [n.d.]

An unidentified African Canadian man is featured in this cabinet card by W. J. Rea, photographer, of Windsor, Ontario. The man appears to be in official dress, possibly of a religious or legal nature. This cabinet card bears the stamp of the photographer, W. J. Rea, in black ink along the bottom of the card and on the reverse. While it is undated, it is likely from the 1870s or 1880s. This cabinet card was in the possession of Iris Sloman Bell, of St. Catharines, Ontario. The Sloman - Bell family descendants include African American slaves from the United States who settled in Canada."Cabinet card photographs were first introduced in 1866. They were initially employed for landscapes rather than portraitures. Cabinet cards replaced Carte de visite photographs as the popular mode of photography. Cabinet cards became the standard for photographic portraits in 1870. Cabinet cards experienced their peak in popularity in the 1880's. Cabinet cards were still being produced in the United States until the early 1900's and continued to be produced in Europe even longer. The best way to describe a cabinet card is that it is a thin photograph that is mounted on a card that measures 4 1/4″ by 6 1/2″. Cabinet cards frequently have artistic logos and information on the bottom or the reverse of the card which advertised the photographer or the photography studio's services." Source: http://cabinetcardgallery.wordpress.com/category/cabinet-card-history/

Cabinet Card of Young African Canadian by The Dominion Photo Studio, Toronto [n.d.]

This unidentified African Canadian man is photographed at the Dominion Photo Studio, located at 388 Queen St. West in Toronto. The photographer's name is not known. No date is provided, however, the Dominion Studio is listed as operating from 1893-1894. The reverse of the card displays the Dominion Photo Studio stamp in gold lettering (image also attached). The gentleman in this cabinet card is possibly a relative of the Sloman - Bell family, who settled in the London and St. Catharines areas of Ontario. This cabinet card was among the family memorabilia in the possession of Iris Sloman Bell, of St. Catharines. Relatives of the Sloman - Bell family include former African American slaves who came to Canada.The Dominion Portait Co. is listed as operating from 1893-1894 in Toronto. There is an additional listing for the Dominion Portrait Co. (Gourlay and Clark props.) for 1894. Source: Phillips, Glen C. The Ontario photographers list (1851-1900). Sarnia: Iron Gate Publishing Co., 1990. "Cabinet card photographs were first introduced in 1866. They were initially employed for landscapes rather than portraitures. Cabinet cards replaced Carte de visite photographs as the popular mode of photography. Cabinet cards became the standard for photographic portraits in 1870. Cabinet cards experienced their peak in popularity in the 1880's. Cabinet cards were still being produced in the United States until the early 1900's and continued to be produced in Europe even longer. The best way to describe a cabinet card is that it is a thin photograph that is mounted on a card that measures 4 1/4″ by 6 1/2″. Cabinet cards frequently have artistic logos and information on the bottom or the reverse of the card which advertised the photographer or the photography studio's services." Source: http://cabinetcardgallery.wordpress.com/category/cabinet-card-history/

La experiencia de los receptores en el trasplante de órganos y tejidos

El trasplante de órganos y/o tejidos es considerado como una opción terapéutica viable para el tratamiento tanto de enfermedades crónicas o en estadios terminales, como de afectaciones no vitales, pero que generen una disminución en la calidad de vida percibida por el paciente. Este procedimiento, de carácter multidimensional, está compuesto por 3 actores principales: el donante, el órgano/tejido, y el receptor. Si bien un porcentaje significativo de investigaciones y planes de intervención han girado en torno a la dimensión biológica del trasplante, y a la promoción de la donación; el interés por la experiencia psicosocial y la calidad de vida de los receptores en este proceso ha aumentado durante la última década. En relación con esto, la presente monografía se plantea como objetivo general la exploración de la experiencia y los significados construidos por los pacientes trasplantados, a través de una revisión sistemática de la literatura sobre esta temática. Para ello, se plantearon unos objetivos específicos derivados del general, se seleccionaron términos o palabras claves por cada uno de estos, y se realizó una búsqueda en 5 bases de datos para revistas indexadas: Ebsco Host (Academic Search; y Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection); Proquest; Pubmed; y Science Direct. A partir de los resultados, se establece que si bien la vivencia de los receptores ha comenzado a ser investigada, aún es necesaria una mayor exploración sobre la experiencia de estos pacientes; exploración que carecería de objetivo si no se hiciera a través de las narrativas o testimonios de los mismos receptores

Valores del índice cintura/cadera en población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia: Estudio

Objetivo: Determinar los valores del índice cintura/cadera (ICC) en una población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia, pertenecientes al estudio FUPRECOL. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo y transversal, realizado en 3.005 niños y 2.916 adolescentes de entre 9 y 17,9 años de edad, pertenecientes a 24 instituciones educativas oficiales de Bogotá, Colombia. Se tomaron medidas de peso, talla, circunferencia de cintura, circunferencia de cadera. El estado de maduración sexual se recogió por auto-reporte. Se calcularon los percentiles (P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 y P97) según sexo y edad y se realizó una comparación entre los valores del ICC observados con estándares internacionales. Resultados: De la población general (n=5.921), el 57,0% eran mujeres (promedio de edad 12,7 ± 2,3 años). En todas las edades el ICC fue mayor en los varones que en las mujeres, observándose un descenso en la media de los valores obtenidos desde los 9 hasta los 17,9 años. En varones, los valores del ICC mayores del P90 (asociados a riesgo cardiovascular) estuvieron en el rango 0,87 y 0,93 y en las mujeres entre 0,85 y 0,89. Al comparar los resultados de este estudio, por grupos de edad y sexo, con trabajos internacionales de niños y adolescentes de Europa, Suramérica, Asia y África, se observa que los valores del ICC fueron menores en este estudio en ambos sexos, con excepción de los escolares originarios de Grecia y Venezuela. Conclusiones: Se presentan percentiles del ICC según edad y sexo que podrán ser usados de referencia en la evaluación del estado nutricional y en la predicción del riesgo cardiovascular desde edades tempranas en población de Bogotá, Colombia.

Sexual blinging of women : Alice Walker's african character tashi and issue of female genital cutting

This thesis provides a reading of the different forms of representation that can be attributed to the character Tashi, the protagonist of the novel Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), written by the African American writer Alice Walker. Before this work Tashi had already appeared in two previous novels by Walker, first, in The Color Purple (1982) and then, as a mention, in The Temple of My Familiar (1989). With Tashi, the author introduces the issue of female circumcision, a ritual Tashi submits herself to at the beginning of her adult life. The focus of observation lies in the ways in which the author’s anger is transformed into a means of creative representation. Walker uses her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy openly as a political instrument so that the expression “female mutilation” (term used by the author) receives ample attention from the media and critics in general. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate to what extent Walker’s social engagement contributes to the development of her work and to what extent it undermines it. For the analysis of the different issues related to “female genital cutting”, the term I use in this thesis, the works of feminist critics and writers such as Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon and the Egyptian writer and doctor Nawal El Saadawi will be consulted. I hope that this thesis can contribute as an observation about Alice Walker’s use of her social engagement in the creation of her fictional world.

Portraits of Protestant Teens: A Report on Teenagers in Major U.S. Denominations

This report examines the religious beliefs and practices of American Protestant teenagers using new, nationally representative survey data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). The NSYR is a major study of the religious and spiritual lives of contemporary American teens, which recently produced a book on its major findings entitled, Soul Searching: the Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (by Christian Smith with Melinda Lundquist Denton, Oxford University Press, 2005). In addition to broadly describing the religious outlook of Protestant teenagers today — and as a more detailed, descriptive follow-up to that book — this report highlights several positive and negative experiences and evaluations of teenagers in different Protestant denominations and groupings of denominations. In brief, this report presents the following findings in these areas of interest: ♦ Religious Participation: Protestant teenagers are relatively active in religious organizations and activities, both within and beyond their churches. About one-half of all Protestant teens attend church weekly, participate in Sunday school or in a religious youth group, pray and attend a religious summer camp or retreat, though less than one-third read the Bible each week. This also means, however, that substantial numbers of Protestant teens are not actively participating in their religious traditions. Teens from conservative denominations such as Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God are especially likely to regularly attend church and participate in other religious activities. ♦ Theological Beliefs: Protestant teenagers are likely to hold many traditional Christian religious beliefs. The majority of Protestant teens say they believe in God, the afterlife, angels, demons, miracles, judgment day and they view God as a personal being involved in the lives of people today. Sizable numbers of Protestant teens, on the other hand, do not hold these traditional Christian religious beliefs. Teens from conservative and black Protestant denominations are more likely than mainline Protestant teens to hold these religious beliefs. ♦ Importance of Faith: The majority of Protestant teenagers report that their religious faith is very important in their lives. Most of them also say that their families talk about religion together, that they have shared their faith with someone not of their faith and that they have had a powerful worship experience. A large minority of all Protestant teenagers, and in the case of some denominations a majority of teenagers, do not report that religious faith is very important in their lives. Teens from conservative and black Protestant denominations are particularly likely to report that faith is important in their lives. ♦ Evaluations of Churches: The majority of Protestant teenagers express relatively positive views of their churches and fellow church members. They typically report that they would continue to attend church if it were totally up to them, that they would attend a similar church if given the choice and that their current church is generally warm and welcoming. Protestant adolescents, however, do have some reservations about and problems with their churches and fellow church attendees, as spelled out in the following pages, particularly with other teenage attendees.

Characteristics of a spina bifida population including North American Caucasian and Hispanic individuals.

BACKGROUND: Meningomyelocele (MM) is a common human birth defect. MM is a disorder of neural development caused by contributions from genes and environmental factors that result in the NTD and lead to a spectrum of physical and neurocognitive phenotypes. METHODS: A multidisciplinary approach has been taken to develop a comprehensive understanding of MM through collaborative efforts from investigators specializing in genetics, development, brain imaging, and neurocognitive outcome. Patients have been recruited from five different sites: Houston and the Texas-Mexico border area; Toronto, Canada; Los Angeles, California; and Lexington, Kentucky. Genetic risk factors for MM have been assessed by genotyping and association testing using the transmission disequilibrium test. RESULTS: A total of 509 affected child/parent trios and 309 affected child/parent duos have been enrolled to date for genetic association studies. Subsets of the patients have also been enrolled for studies assessing development, brain imaging, and neurocognitive outcomes. The study recruited two major ethnic groups, with 45.9% Hispanics of Mexican descent and 36.2% North American Caucasians of European descent. The remaining patients are African-American, South and Central American, Native American, and Asian. Studies of this group of patients have already discovered distinct corpus callosum morphology and neurocognitive deficits that associate with MM. We have identified maternal MTHFR 667T allele as a risk factor for MM. In addition, we also found that several genes for glucose transport and metabolism are potential risk factors for MM. CONCLUSIONS: The enrolled patient population provides a valuable resource for elucidating the disease characteristics and mechanisms for MM development.

Adolescent tobacco use: Studies of prevalence, factorial validity, and factorial invariance between African Americans and Whites

In the last thirty years, increasing efforts have been made to reduce the prevalence of adolescent tobacco use in the United States. Although the prevalence has declined dramatically over the past decade, there are still sharp differences in adolescent smoking-initiation rates across racial/ethnic groups. Large-scale surveys frequently assess smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions to explain the differences in smoking rates between African Americans and Whites. However, there is little agreement about which constructs are significant. Moreover, the psychometric properties of smoking-related attitude, self-efficacy, and intention constructs have not been fully examined. More studies are needed to understand existing patterns of tobacco use and to validate and fully exploit the constructs' relationship to adolescent smoking initiation across racial/ethnic groups. ^ This dissertation reports on a secondary analysis of data from a large multi-ethnic convenience sample of sixth- through eighth-grade students in 22 schools in East Texas and the city of Houston. The specific aims of this dissertation were to (1) describe smoking and alternate tobacco product use rates by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and grade level (Article 1); (2) test the factorial validity of smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions using confirmatory factor analysis techniques (Article 2); and (3) test the factorial invariance of smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions between African Americans and Whites (Article 3). ^ The prevalence findings confirm the disparities in tobacco use among African American, Hispanic, and White adolescents that other surveys have reported (Article 1). This study also demonstrates the usefulness of examining use patterns of not only cigarettes but also alternative tobacco products in younger multiethnic populations, as well as of providing epidemiological data estimates about different phases of smoking. The confirmatory factor analysis provides evidence of construct validity of attitude, self-efficacy, and intention scales for the multiethnic sample (Article 2). Finally, the factorial invariance analyses indicates that some measures representing smoking-related attitudes, self-efficacy, and intentions may not be appropriate for use among both African Americans and Whites (Article 3). Additional research is needed to further our understanding of the patterns and predictors of youth tobacco use initiation. ^

Association between glycemic index and glycemic load and the risk of incident coronary heart disease among whites and African Americans with and without type 2 diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study

Several studies have examined the association between high glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) diets and the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, most of these studies were conducted primarily on white populations. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether high GI and GL diets are associated with increased risk for developing CHD in whites and African Americans, non-diabetics and diabetics, and within stratifications of body mass index (BMI) and hypertension (HTN). Baseline and 17-year follow-up data from ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study was used. The study population (13,051) consisted of 74% whites, 26% African Americans, 89% non-diabetics, 11% diabetics, 43% male, 57% female aged 44 to 66 years at baseline. Data from the ARIC food frequency questionnaire at baseline were analyzed to provide GI and GL indices for each subject. Increases of 25 and 30 units for GI and GL respectively were used to describe relationships on incident CHD risk. Adjusted hazard ratios for propensity score with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to assess associations. During 17 years of follow-up (1987 to 2004), 1,683 cases of CHD was recorded. Glycemic index was associated with 2.12 fold (95% CI: 1.05, 4.30) increased incident CHD risk for all African Americans and GL was associated with 1.14 fold (95% CI: 1.04, 1.25) increased CHD risk for all whites. In addition, GL was also an important CHD risk factor for white non-diabetics (HR=1.59; 95% CI: 1.33, 1.90). Furthermore, within stratum of BMI 23.0 to 29.9 in non-diabetics, GI was associated with an increased hazard ratio of 11.99 (95% CI: 2.31, 62.18) for CHD in African Americans, and GL was associated with 1.23 fold (1.08, 1.39) increased CHD risk in whites. Body mass index modified the effect of GI and GL on CHD risk in all whites and white non-diabetics. For HTN, both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure modified the effect on GI and GL on CHD risk in all whites and African Americans, white and African American non-diabetics, and white diabetics. Further studies should examine other factors that could influence the effects of GI and GL on CHD risk, including dietary factors, physical activity, and diet-gene interactions. ^

The effect of African Americans' ethnographic paradigms and cultural explanatory model of breast cancer in framing the male partner's attitudes and behaviors about the woman's breast cancer diagnosis

The disparate burden of breast cancer-related morbidity and mortality experienced by African American women compared with women of other races is a topic of intense debate in the medical and public health arenas. The anomaly is consistently attributed to the fact that at diagnosis, a large proportion of African American women have advanced-stage disease. Extensive research has documented the impacts of cultural factors and of socioeconomic factors in shaping African American women's breast-health practices; however, there is another factor of a more subtle influence that might have some role in establishing these women's vulnerability to this disease: the lack of or perceived lack of partner support. Themes expressed in the research literature reflect that many African American breast cancer patients and survivors consider their male partners as being apathetic and nonsupportive. ^ The purpose of this study was to learn how African American couples' ethnographic paradigms and cultural explanatory model of breast cancer frame the male partners' responses to the women's diagnosis and to assess his ability to cope and willingness to adapt to the subsequent challenges. The goal of the study was to determine whether these men's coping and adaptation skills positively or negatively affect the women's self-care attitudes and behaviors. ^ This study involved 4 African American couples in which the woman was a breast cancer survivor. Participants were recruited through a community-based cancer support group and a church-based cancer support group. Recruitment sessions were held at regular meetings of these organizations. Accrual took 2 months. In separate sessions, each male partner and each survivor completed a demographic survey and a questionnaire and were interviewed. Additionally, the couples were asked to participate in a communications activity (Adinkra). This activity was not done to fulfill any part of the study purpose and was not included in the data analysis; rather, it was done to assess its potential use as an intervention to promote dialogue between African American partners about the experience of breast cancer. ^ The questionnaire was analyzed on the basis of a coding schema and the interview responses were analyzed on the principles of hermeneutic phenomenology. In both cases, the instruments were used to determine whether the partner's coping skills reflected a compassionate attitude (positive response) versus an apathetic attitude (negative response) and whether his adaptation skills reflected supportive behaviors (the positive response) versus nonsupportive behaviors (the negative response). Overall, the women's responses showed that they perceived of their partners as being compassionate, yet nonsupportive, and the partner's perceived of themselves likewise. Only half of the women said that their partners' coping and adaptation abilities enabled them to relinquish traditional concepts of control and focus on their own well-being. ^ The themes that emerged indicate that African American men's attitudes and behaviors regarding his female partner's diagnosis of breast cancer and his ability to cope and willingness to adapt are influenced by their ritualistic mantras, folk beliefs, religious teachings/spiritual values, existential ideologies, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors and by their established perceptions of what causes breast cancer, what the treatments and outcomes are, and how the disease affects the entire family, particularly him. These findings imply that a culturally specific intervention might be useful in educating African American men about breast cancer and their roles in supporting their female partners, physically and psychologically, during diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. ^