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/

Tamizaje neonatal para fibrosis quística en una muestra de la ciudad de Bogotá

La Fibrosis Quística es la enfermedad autosómica recesiva mas frecuente en caucásicos. En Colombia no se conoce la incidencia de la enfermedad, pero investigaciones del grupo de la Universidad del Rosario indican que podría ser relativamente alta. Objetivo: Determinar la incidencia de afectados por Fibrosis Quística en una muestra de recién nacidos de la ciudad de Bogotá. Metodología: Se analizan 8.297 muestras de sangre de cordón umbilical y se comparan tres protocolos de tamizaje neonatal: TIR/TIR, TIR/DNA y TIR/DNA/TIR. Resultados: El presente trabajo muestra una incidencia de 1 en 8.297 afectados en la muestra analizada. Conclusiones: Dada la relativamente alta incidencia demostrada en Bogotá, se justifica la implementación de Tamizaje Neonatal para Fibrosis Quística en Colombia.

Comparación de la severidad y extensión de la enfermedad coronaria multivaso por Syntax Score en una poblaciòn de las Antillas Holandesas vs controles nacionales

En la Enfermedad Coronaria (EC) existen factores genéticos, socioculturales, medioambientales y raciales adicionales a los factores de riesgo cardiovascular mayores que podrían influir en su presentación. Se desconoce el impacto de la raza en la severidad de la enfermedad coronaria en los pacientes extranjeros que son enviados a nuestro Servicio. Objetivos: Comparar la severidad de la EC multivaso en una población de pacientes de las Antillas y Nacionales, pareados por la escala Framingham. Metodología: Realizamos un estudio de corte transversal, comparando pacientes colombianos contra pacientes provenientes de las Antillas holandesas con similares factores de riesgo según escala de Framingham, catalogándolos por grupos de riesgo bajo, intermedio, alto y muy alto. Todos con EC severa multivaso documentada por angiografía coronaria desde enero del 2009 hasta Junio de 2011. Se excluyeron pacientes con antecedentes de intervención percutánea o quirúrgica previa. Resultados: Ingresaron 115 pacientes internacionales y 115 pacientes nacionales. La relación hombres/mujeres 3:1. La proporción de grupos de riesgo fue de bajo riesgo 2.5%, intermedio 15%, alto 19.3%, y muy alto 63.4%. El Syntax Score en pacientes nacionales fue 14.3+/-7.4 y en internacionales 22.2+/-10.5 p: 0.002. Conclusiones: En pacientes provenientes de las Antillas Holandesas, valorados en nuestra institución, se observó una mayor severidad de la enfermedad coronaria comparada con una población nacional con factores de riesgo similares. Estos hallazgos sugieren la influencia de la raza y factores genéticos en la severidad y extensión de la EC

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.

Pre-school contributions to future achievements

This paper provides recent evidence about the beneÖts of attending preschool on future performance. A non-parametric matching procedure is used over two outcomes: math and verbal scores at a national mandatory test (Saber11) in Colombia. It is found that students who had the chance of attending preschool obtain higher scores in math (6.7%) and verbal (5.4%) than those who did not. A considerable fraction of these gaps comes from the upper quintiles of studentís performance, suggesting that preschool matters when is done at high quality institutions. When we include the number of years at the preschool, the gap rises up to 12% in verbal and 17% in math.

Percentiles de circunferencia de cintura en escolares de Bogotá, Colombia Estudio FUPRECOL

Objetivo: Determinar la distribución por percentiles de la circunferencia de cintura en una población escolar de Bogotá, Colombia, pertenecientes al estudio FUPRECOL. Métodos: Estudio transversal, realizado en 3.005 niños y 2.916 adolescentes de entre 9 y 17,9 años de edad, de Bogotá, Colombia. Se tomaron medidas de peso, talla, circunferencia de cintura, circunferencia de cadera y estado de maduración sexual por auto-reporte. Se calcularon los percentiles (P3, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90 y P97) y curvas centiles según sexo y edad. Se realizó una comparación entre los valores de la circunferencia de cintura observados con estándares internacionales. Resultados: De la población general (n=5.921), el 57,0% eran chicas (promedio de edad 12,7±2,3 años). En la mayoría de los grupos etáreos la circunferencia de cintura de las chicas fue inferior a la de los chicos. El aumento entre el P50-P97 de la circunferencia de cintura , por edad, fue mínimo de 15,7 cm en chicos de 9-9.9 años y de 16,0 cm en las chicas de 11-11.9 años. Al comparar los resultados de este estudio, por grupos de edad y sexo, con trabajos internacionales de niños y adolescentes, el P50 fue inferior al reportado en Perú e Inglaterra a excepción de los trabajos de la India, Venezuela (Mérida), Estados Unidos y España. Conclusiones: Se presentan percentiles de la circunferencia de cintura 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.

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.

Evaluation of Viral Load Thresholds for Predicting New World Health Organization Stage 3 and 4 Events in HIV-Infected Children Receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: This study evaluated a wide range of viral load (VL) thresholds to identify a cut-point that best predicts new clinical events in children on stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods: Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to assess the adjusted risk for World Health Organization stage 3 or 4 clinical events (WHO events) as a function of time-varying CD4, VL, and hemoglobin values in a cohort study of Latin American children on HAART >= 6 months. Models were fit using different VL cut-points between 400 and 50,000 copies per milliliter, with model fit evaluated on the basis of the minimum Akaike information criterion value, a standard model fit statistic. Results: Models were based on 67 subjects with WHO events out of 550 subjects on study. The VL cut-points of >2600 and >32,000 copies per milliliter corresponded to the lowest Akaike information criterion values and were associated with the highest hazard ratios (2.0, P = 0.015; and 2.1, P = 0.0058, respectively) for WHO events. Conclusions: In HIV-infected Latin American children on stable HAART, 2 distinct VL thresholds (>2600 and >32,000 copies/mL) were identified for predicting children at significantly increased risk for HIV-related clinical illness, after accounting for CD4 level, hemoglobin level, and other significant factors.

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.

Grandparents in Kinship Care: Help or Hindrance to Family Preservation

The phenomenon of grandparents and other relatives raising children is a tradition rooted in the African American culture. However, a substantial increase in the number of relatives raising children has drawn attention to the child welfare system. Many of the biological parents are incarcerated for drugs or suffering from other social ills. Kinship care is an important component of family preservation and prevents court intervention based on child protection concerns and avoids formal placement of children in the child welfare system (Wilkerson, 1999). The child welfare system, however, is not conducive to this phenomenon. Placing children with grandparents and relatives allows them to live with people they know and trust; reduces the initial trauma of living with unknown persons; supports the transmission of identity, culture, and ethnicity; facilitates connections with brothers and sisters, and strengthens a family’s ability to provide the support they need.

Family Preservation Journal, 1998, Volume 3, Issue 2. (Entire issue)

Entire issue (large pdf file) Articles include: Getting to Know You: Psychoeducational Groups to Counter Social Isolation of Neglectful Mothers. Marianne Berry Intensive Family Preservation in Children's Mental Health: Predictors of Placement. Cathryn C. Potter An Innovative Family Preservation Program in an African American Community: Longitudinal Analysis. Patricia Ciliberti Chipping Away at the Monolith: Dispelling the Myth of Father Noninvolvement in Children's Early Literacy Development. Robert W. Ortiz

An investigation of the pica practices of pregnant women in Houston and Prairie View, Texas

Pregnant African American women are at higher risk of having a preterm delivery and/or a low birthweight infant. Many factors are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes but a food habit that deserves further study in the causal process is pica, a craving for, and ingestion of, nonnutritive substances such as laundry starch, clay, dirt, or ice. This food habit is more common in the African American population but has not been adequately studied in relation to preterm and/or low birth weight infants.^ Mothers (n = 281) with infants less than one year of age who participated in the Special Supplementary Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at clinics in Houston and Prairie View, Texas were interviewed regarding pica practices during pregnancy, dietary practices, and some demographic indices. Hospital records were abstracted for health information on the mothers and infants, including birthweight and gestational age at birth of the infant.^ The subjects were 88.6% African American, 6.8% Hispanic, and 4.6% Caucasian. Overall prevalence of pica was 76.5%. Pica prevalence by substance(s) was as follows: ice 53.7%; ice and freezer frost 14.6%; other substances such as baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, laundry starch, and clay or dirt 8.2%; and 23.5% reported no pica. The women who reported ice/freezer frost pica had a higher percentage of illegal drug use and alcohol use during pregnancy. The women who reported other pica substances had the lowest mean educational level, highest gravidity, and a higher percentage smoked during pregnancy.^ There were no significant differences in nutrient intakes measured by the mean 24-hour dietary recalls between women who reported ice pica (n = 103) and women who denied pica (n = 50). The women who reported ice/freezer frost pica or other pica substances had more food cravings and food dislikes during pregnancy than those who reported ice pica or no pica.^ There were no differences in mean birthweight or mean gestational age at birth of infants born to mothers from the three pica groups and the no pica group but regression analyses revealed a possible relationship between pica, low maternal hemoglobin at delivery, and preterm birth. ^

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. ^