Boom, bust, and the human body: Further evidence on the relationship between height and business cycles

Historical time series for average human height exhibit short- and medium-term cycles that can be associated with business cycles in the 19th and 20th century. Using spectral analysis, we calculate the proportion of cyclical fluctuations in height series attributable to economic cycles. We also analyze the extent to which these cyclical phenomena change over time. In the U.S., the association between height cycles and business cycles was weaker among richer segments of the society, and weaker among men than among women. Additionally, the relationship diminished over time, probably with the rich preceding the population at large.     

The great transformation: A long-run perspective on physical well-being in Canada

During the 19th century the physical stature of the Canadian-born stagnated or declined slightly in spite of a substantial increase in income. Stature varied regionally within Canada. The Quebec population was especially short; men in the Atlantic coastal region were taller than their low incomes would lead us to expect. Heights increased dramatically in the 20th Century. The pattern of long-run change is consistent with evidence of age-specific mortality and with the relationship between income and physical well-being envisaged by Preston [Preston, S., 1975. The changing relationship between mortality and the level of economic development. Popul. Stud. 29, 231-248]. The transition from stagnant or declining stature to secular increase points to a dramatic shift ca. 1900 in the evolution of the physical standard of living in Canada.     

西安市青年学生胸骨长与身长的关系

本文对1980年测量的西安在校汉族青年学生1585名(男863,女722),年龄16-24岁,按年龄性别分组,计算了身长和胸骨长的均值、胸骨长占身长的百分数、身长与胸骨长的比值、身长、胸骨长指数,并提出了由胸骨长推算身长的回归方程。     

Body height estimation based on tibia length in different stature groups

Long bone length is one of the best-known indicators of human stature. Although the long bone length/height ratio differs in tall and short individuals, no detailed study has investigated whether specific formulae should be used to calculate height in different stature groups. This study proposes a new height estimation method. Body height and tibia length were measured in 121 male subjects aged 18.0-34.3 years. Three subgroups were established according to body height (short, medium, or tall), using the 15th and 85th percentiles as cutoff levels. The general formula and a group-specific regression formula were used to estimate height in each subgroup. A control group with the same properties as the study group was analyzed in the same manner. Particularly with "short" and "tall" subjects, the difference between true height and the height predicted by the group-specific formulae was smaller than the difference observed when the general formula was used. These discrepancies were statistically significant. When estimating height based on tibia length, the individual's general stature category should be taken into consideration, and group-specific formulae should be used for short and tall subjects.     

掌骨X线测量推断身高的研究

随机选取在校健康大学生186人(男90人, 女96人, 年龄18—27岁), 拍摄双手后前位372侧X线片, 测量身高和掌骨的长与宽。通过掌骨和身高的测量, 分析掌骨各参数与身高的关系, 为人类学和法医学的身高推断积累研究资料。掌骨长与身高的相关性明显高于掌骨宽, 其中男性第2掌骨长与身高相关性最高, 其线性回归方程为Ym=1097.320+9.337X; 女性第3掌骨长与身高的相关性最高, 其线性回归方程为Yf=1016.752+9.878X。男性第2掌骨长和女性第3掌骨长与身高的相关性最高, 可分别作为推断身高的依据。     

Plasma gonadotrophin and ovarian steroid concentrations in women with menstrual cycles with a short luteal phase

Daily plasma concentrations of FSH, LH, oestradiol-17 beta and progesterone were compared for 12 cycles with a short luteal phase and 19 cycles with a luteal phase of normal length (i.e. cycles in which the luteal phase lasted 12 or more days). FSH and LH concentrations were suppressed in short luteal-phase cycles in the early follicular phase and the length of the follicular phase was prolonged (median duration, 14.5 days, range 13-21 days: compared with 12 days, range 9-17, in control cycles; P less than 0.025). Preovulatory oestradiol-17 beta values and the mid-cycle concentrations of FSH and LH were similar in both groups. Plasma progesterone values in the luteal phase were similar in both groups over the 2nd to 5th days inclusive after the midcycle LH peak but declined in the short luteal phases thereafter. In short luteal-phase cycles, menstruation occurred in the presence of higher levels of oestradiol-17 beta and progesterone than in cycles of normal length and the rise of gonadotrophin in the late luteal phase of the cycle was delayed. These findings suggest that in cycles with a short luteal phase there is a lack of synchrony between the ovarian and menstrual events.     

Technical note: a re-evaluation of stature estimation from skeletal length in the grave

Several methods for stature estimation have been proposed over the years. Among these methods is anatomical reconstruction, regression based on long bone lengths, and measuring skeletal vertex - talus length in the grave for individuals buried in a supine position. Recent studies have dealt with the applicability of skeletal length in the grave (Petersen: Int J Osteoarchaeol 15 (2005) 106-114) and anatomical reconstruction (Raxter et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 374-384). The results from the latter study calls into question the results of the former study. Therefore an investigation of the potential bias of using skeletal length in the grave as an estimate of living stature has been performed. Twenty Medieval Danish skeletons were measured both in situ and in the laboratory, and the anatomically reconstructed stature (Raxter et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 374-384) was compared with the skeletal length in the grave. The results show that 2.5 cm should be added to skeletal length in the grave in order to obtain an unbiased estimate ofliving stature.     

中国汉族乡村成年人的身高与体质量的地理性分布

目前尚未见大样本的中国乡村汉族人随纬度、经度增长,身高、体质量值的变化规律的报道。为此,2009～2013年测量了16501例汉族人(共36个调查地区)乡村成人的身高、体质量等13项指标值,并计算了3项指数。研究不同纬度、经度地区汉族乡村成人的身高、体质量值变化规律以及这种规律形成的原因。研究发现,汉族人的身高、体质量与纬度、经度均呈正相关。随纬度增加,男性和女性的躯干、下肢的高度值均增大是身高与纬度呈正相关的原因。随纬度增加,男性身高的增加、躯干的增粗共同促进体质量与纬度呈正相关,女性身高、躯干围度、四肢围度、背部皮下脂肪厚度值的增大是体质量与纬度呈正相关的原因。男性随经度增加,身高增大,躯干部的增粗是导致体质量与经度相关的原因。而四肢和躯干的皮下脂肪、四肢的围度并不随经度的增加而线性增大。随经度增加,女性的身高、臀围呈线性增大,这是导致女性体质量与经度相关的主要原因。遗传、环境、经济发展水平的差异是导致身高、体质量与纬度、经度呈正相关的因素。     

Stature in an early mid-19th century poorhouse population: Highland Park, Rochester, New York

If the early 19th century United States was a developing country, then it may be expected that the lowest economic stratum would show some biological consequences of poverty. This report examines that question by estimating stature on 90 male and 64 female adult skeletons from an unmarked cemetery dating between 1826 and 1863. The Highland Park burial ground was adjacent to institutions which interned unfortunates of Rochester, Monroe County, in western New York. The best estimate of male stature (N = 84) is 172.6 cm. A review of other 18th and 19th century height data shows this value not to be relatively stunted, but rather exactly on the predicted mean of its time. If this was a poor population, stunting was not a consequence of poverty. Females (N = 59) showed a best height estimate of 160.0 cm. Less comparative data are available, but this too seems average for the time. A brief discussion of secular trends, changing income inequity and fluctuating stature from the 18th through 20th centuries puts this finding in context.     

Interaction of nutritional and socioeconomic status as determinants of cognitive development in disadvantaged urban Guatemalan children

The relationship between nutritional status, measured by height for age, and cognition, measured by WISC full-scale IQ, was studied in a longitudinal sample of 459 urban Guatemalan children, aged 4-9 years, from a disadvantage community of the fringe of Guatemala City, examined annually over a 3 year period. Socioeconomic status (SES) was controlled by developing a composite index for each home. The mean IQ differed significantly from the lowest to the highest quartiles of stature, the difference between the two extreme quartiles being approximately 0.3 SD of IQ. There was a significant interaction between SES and stature in their effects on IQ. Whereas nutritional status and SES affected IQ in an additive fashion in the upper three SES quartiles, there was no difference in IQ attributible to stature among children from the most disadvantaged homes. This analysis indicates that the mild-to-moderate protein-energy malnutrition (defined by height for age) that is prevalent among children from disadvantaged environments in developing countries is significantly related to cognitive development. However, in the poorest homes, SES is seen as a more important determinant of cognitive development than stature.     

基诺族体质特征及35年来体质的变化

对云南西双版纳傣族自治州景洪县基诺山基诺乡的基诺族进行体质调查,测量了600例(男279人,女321人)成人人体测量学指标,与35年前在同一地区测量的基诺族体质数据进行了比较,初步分析了35年来基诺族体质变化的原因,研究表明,基诺族身材较矮,颧部不突出,上眼睑多有皱褶,接近40％成年人具有蒙古褶,眼裂高度多为中等,眼外...     

Menstrual Phase Response to Nocturnal Light

The aims of the study were to test whether nocturnal white light can normalize menstrual cycles in oligomenorrheic women, and whether the phase of the menstrual cycle in which light is given is important for the shortening effect. Twenty-five women with long menstrual cycles (35.9–53.4 days on average) were treated for 1–3 cycles, each of which was preceded and followed by at least two untreated cycles. Treatments were 100 watt bedside lights administered for 5 consecutive nights. They centered at three different phases of the menstrual cycle: 6–7th, 14–17th or 23–25th days of the treated cycle (early, middle or late treatment, respectively). On average, the treatment cycle lengths were modestly, but significantly reduced compared to the duration of baseline cycles (more than 11 %). The difference in the effects of the early, middle and late treatment was not significant. However, if middle or late treatments were administered in the latter half of the interval between the menstrual cycle onset and probable time of ovulation, reductions of the treated cycle length were substantial (more than 20 %, resulting in cycles less than 33 days on average; p < 0.001). Other treatments produced only weak (up to 7 %), if any, cycle reductions. Moreover, we found a strong correlation (p < 0.001) between the duration of baseline cycle and differential effect of middle treatment (compared to early or late treatment). Middle treatments reduced treated cycle duration to the normal range in the subjects with shorter mean baseline cycles (<42 days), while in the subjects with longer duration of baseline cycle the shortening effect was produced by late treatments (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001, respectively). The results support the suggestion that a bedside lamp used on nights prior to ovulation can cause reduction of long menstrual cycles.     

北京市幼儿园2—6岁儿童生长情况

1985年5月—8月,作者对北京市幼儿园833名2—6岁儿童进行了人体测量调查,并对所获得的数据进行了统计分析。结果表明2—6岁儿童身高增长较快,平均每年增加70毫米,身体各部分的长度变化基本与身高的增长相协调;围度的变异范围大于长度的变异范围。同1975年调查结果相比,儿童的体重、身高、胸围等项目数值都有所增加,但身高的增加速度已减慢。     

Secular trend in height in Al Ain-United Arab Emirates

Correlation between cycles in human stature and those in economic variables is well established. A recent review of international trends in this area provided information from most parts of the world but none on Arabs in the Middle East or more specifically the gulf region.The United Arab Emirates experienced a transformation in economic and social life followed the discovery of oil in the late 1960s and the wealth that it generated. No data is available on human growth at this period of time because its population never had health services prior to the 1970s. A study on conventional cardiovascular risk factors in 2004-2005 included 817 randomly selected national adults (≥18 years) from both genders. The relationship between height and age in this study showed both men and women have increased in height with time demonstrating the secular change in height most likely a result of changing socioeconomic factors.     

Measuring the impact of temperature changes on the wine production in the Douro Region using the short time fourier transform

This paper investigates the cyclical behaviour of the wine production in Douro region during the period 1932–2008. In general, wine production is characterised by large fluctuations which are composed of short-term and/or long-term cycles. The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, we decompose the wine production's variance in order to find the dominating production cycles, i.e we try to explain whether wine production follows more long-term or short-term cycles. In the next step, we try to explain those cycles using a dependent variable, namely the medium spring temperature (Tm_Sp) for the period 1967–2008. We estimated a Time-Varying Autoregressive Model, which could explain 75% of the production that is characterised by 4.8- and 2.5-year cycles. We use the Short Time Fourier Transform to decompose the link between wine production and temperature. When the temperature was incorporated, the R ² increased and the Akaike criterion value was lower. Hence, Tm_Sp causes a large amount of these cycles and the wine production variation reflects this relationship. In addition to an upward trend, there is a clearly identifiable cycle around the long-term trend in production. We also show how much of the production cycle and what cycle in particular is explained by the Tm_Sp. There is a stable but not constant link between production and the Tm_Sp. In particular, the temperature is responsible for 5.2- and 2.4-year cycles which has been happening since the 1980s. The Tm_Sp can also be used as an indicator for the 4.8- and 2.5-year cycles of production. The developed model suggests that stationarity is a questionable assumption, and this means that historical distributions of wine production are going to need dynamic updating.     

Iterative evolution of Middle Jurassic ammonite faunas

The phenomenon of iterative evolution of homeomorphs in identical temporal sequences is exhibited by Aalenian and Bajocian ammonite faunas in the south German depositional basin. Within each evolutionary cycle, inflated, evolute, and ornamented shells with complex suture lines are successively replaced with discoidal, involute, smooth shells with simpler sutures. Three distinct and identical cycles of morphological change occur, and involve ammonites belonging to four different familial/subfamilial groups: the Leioceratinae, Graphoceratinae, Hammatoceratidae, and Sonniniidae. Geometric and statistical analyses of morphological change within each of these higher taxa reveal remarkable iteration in both the pattern and proportion of change with time. The iterative morphological cycles were not driven by orthogenesis or anagenetic transformation within lineages, as has been previously suggested. A clear correlation exists between the successive ammonite faunas and repeated cyclical changes in the physical marine environment of the depositional basin. D Ammonoidea, Aalenian, Bajocian, south Germany, iterative evolution.     

A cyclical semicontinuous process for production of human alpha 1-antitrypsin using metabolically induced plant cell suspension cultures

Transgenic rice suspension cultures were utilized to produce a human therapeutic protein, recombinant alpha(1)-antitrypsin (rAAT), in a cyclical, semicontinuous operation. Recombinant protein production was induced by removing the carbon source from the cell culture medium. The transgenic rice cells secreted the rAAT into the medium, and therefore medium exchanges could be performed for consecutive growth and protein expression phases. The process consisted of three cycles over a 25-28 day period, with growth phases lasting 4-6 days each and protein expression phases lasting 2.5-5 days each. Biomass and sugar concentrations, oxygen uptake rate, cell viability, culture pH, total extracellular protein, and active rAAT were measured throughout the cyclical process. The data profiles were reproducible between separate cyclical runs where, following each induction period, cell growth and viability could be reestablished once sucrose was added back to the culture. Volumetric productivities ranged from 3 to 12 mg active rAAT/(L day) for individual cycles with overall volumetric productivities of 4.5 and 7.7 mg active rAAT/(L day).     

Adult height distribution in subjects born small for gestational age

The aim of the study was to investigate the post-natal growth of subjects born small for gestational age (SGA) by describing adult height distribution and by testing the effects of parental, neonatal and pregnancy-related parameters on the risk for adult short stature. The study population was made of adults selected on birth data from a maternity registry and born either small (SGA, n = 734, birth weight < 10th percentile) or appropriate for gestational age (AGA, n = 886, 25th < birth weight < 75th percentile) in whom anthropometric parameters were measured at 22 years of age. The SGA group demonstrated significantly reduced body size in comparison to the AGA group with a mean loss of 0.7 standard deviation (SD) in adult height. The frequency of adult short stature (< -2 SD) was 10.3% in the SGA group vs. 2.4% in the AGA group (p = 0.0001), adult height < -2.5 SD was observed in only 3.7% of the SGA group. Maternal (OR = 0.31 (0.16-0.62), p = 0.0001) and paternal (OR = 0.45 (0.31-0.67), p = 0.0001) heights and subjects birth length (OR = 0.78 (0.62-0.99), p = 0.04) significantly influenced the risk of adult short stature. In summary, post-natal growth defect remains moderate in the majority of subjects born SGA and < 4% only will end up with severe short stature requiring GH therapy according to most current recommendations. The role of parental height and birth length suggests that adult short stature in SGA subjects results at least in some cases from a familial and likely genetic growth disorder with antenatal onset.