中国壮侗语族人群的肌肉分布及其与年龄的关系

为了解壮侗语族族群肌肉分布特点以及探讨随年龄增长壮侗语族族群各个部位肌肉量变化的基本特点,使用人体脂肪测量仪采用生物电阻抗法在海南、贵州、广西、云南、湖南五个省、自治区测量了壮侗语族13个族群的身体肌肉量。总样本量为5098例(男性为2126例,女性为2972例)。采用握力计测量了2685例男性和3793例女性的左手、右手握力。研究发现,壮侗语族族群男性、女性肌肉量总体评价接近标准,上下肢肌肉量判断属于标准水平。男性、女性均为躯干肌肉量最大,下肢肌肉量次之,上肢肌肉量最小。男性总肌肉量、四肢肌肉量、躯干肌肉量都大于女性。男性3个年龄组间总肌肉量、躯干肌肉量、上肢肌肉量、右下肢肌肉量的差异具有统计学意义,而左下肢肌肉量彼此接近;女性3个年龄组间总肌肉量、四肢肌肉量、躯干肌肉量差异均具有统计学意义。男性除左下肢肌肉量外,其余5项肌肉量指标均与年龄呈显著负相关关系;女性总肌肉量、躯干肌肉量与年龄呈显著负相关,但四肢肌肉量与年龄无显著负相关。壮侗语族族群肌肉量少于北方族群,具有中国南方族群的特点。在南方族群中,壮侗语族族群男性肌肉量中等,女性肌肉量略多一些。     

Upper limb musculoskeletal stress markers among middle Holocene foragers of Siberia's Cis‐Baikal region

This evaluation of musculoskeletal stress markers (MSMs) in the Cis‐Baikal focuses on upper limb activity reconstruction among the region's middle Holocene foragers, particularly as it pertains to adaptation and cultural change. The five cemetery populations investigated represent two discrete groups separated by an 800–1,000 year hiatus: the Early Neolithic (8000–7000/6800 cal. BP) Kitoi culture and the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age (6000/5800–4000 cal. BP) Isakovo‐Serovo‐Glaskovo (ISG) cultural complex. Twenty‐four upper limb MSMs are investigated not only to gain a better understanding of activity throughout the middle Holocene, but also to independently assess the relative distinctiveness of Kitoi and ISG adaptive regimes. Results reveal higher heterogeneity in overall activity levels among Early Neolithic populations—with Kitoi males exhibiting more pronounced upper limb MSMs than both contemporary females and ISG males—but relative constancy during the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age, regardless of sex or possible status. On the other hand, activity patterns seem to have varied more during the latter period, with the supinator being ranked high among the ISG, but not the Kitoi, and forearm flexors and extensors being ranked generally low only among ISG females. Upper limb rank patterning does not distinguish Early Neolithic males, suggesting that their higher MSM scores reflect differences in the degree (intensity and/or duration), rather than the type, of activity employed. Finally, for both Kitoi and ISG peoples, activity patterns—especially the consistently high‐ranked costoclavicular ligament and deltoid and pectoralis major muscles—appear to be consistent with watercraft use. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Tracing prehistoric activities: musculoskeletal stress marker analysis of a Stone-Age population on the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea

The skeletal remains from the Middle Neolithic (2750-2300 BC) burial ground at Ajvide, Gotland, are analyzed in order to explore musculoskeletal patterns and to attempt to trace general as well as three specific prehistoric activities (archery, harpooning, and kayaking) that are likely to have been performed in this marine setting of fishing, hunting, and gathering. Scoring of muscular and ligament attachments is performed using the scoring method of Hawkey and Merbs ([1995] Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 5:324-338) for muskuloskeletal stress markers (MSM). The skeletal material consists of 24 male and 15 female adult individuals divided into three age groups: young (<24 years), middle (25-39 years), and old (>40 years). Thirty upper body MSM sites, on both the left and right sides, are scored and form the basis of the study. Results show that males most frequently have higher mean MSM scores than females. Bilateral asymmetry was noted as low in both sexes. Age proved to be a contributing factor to increased MSM scores, with a greater age-related increase in females. MSM patterns were analyzed statistically in muscle groups associated with the three investigated activities. Significant positive correlations were observed in male individuals in muscle groups associated with archery and to some extent harpooning, an indication that these activities would mainly have been performed by men. Correlations in kayaking muscles were not evidently consistent with the kayaking motion. Furthermore, the costoclavicular ligament, often referred to in connection with "kayaker's clavicle," showed no positive statistical correlation with the kayaking muscles.     

Biomechanical approach to the reconstruction of activity patterns in Neolithic Western Liguria, Italy

This paper investigates the changes in upper and lower limb robusticity and activity patterns that accompanied the transition to a Neolithic subsistence in western Liguria (Italy). Diaphyseal robusticity measures were obtained from cross-sectional geometric properties of the humerus and femur in a sample of 16 individuals (eight males and eight females) dated to about 6,000-5,500 BP. Comparisons with European Late Upper Paleolithics (LUP) indicate increased humeral robusticity in Neolithic Ligurian (NEOL) males, but not in females, with a significant reduction in right-left differences in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism in robusticity increases in upper and lower limb bones. Regarding the femur, while all female indicators of bending strength decrease steadily through time, values for NEOL males approach those of LUP. This suggests high, and unexpected, levels of mechanical stress for NEOL males, probably reflecting the effects of the mountainous terrain on lower limb remodeling. Comparisons between NEOL males and a small sample of LUP hunter-gatherers from the same area support this interpretation. In conclusion, cross-sectional geometry data indicate that the transition to Neolithic economies in western Liguria did not reduce functional requirements in males, and suggest a marked sexual division of labor involving a more symmetrical use of the upper limb, and different male-female levels of locomotory stress. When articulated with archaeological, faunal, paleopathological, and ethnographic evidence, these results support the hypothesis of repetitive, bimanual use of axes tied to pastoral activities in males, and of more sedentary tasks linked to agriculture in females.     

Enthesopathies as occupational stress markers: Evidence from the upper limb

Enthesopathies—that is, “musculo‐skeletal stress markers”—are frequently used to reconstruct past lifestyles and activity patterns. Relatively little attention has been paid in physical anthropology to methodological gaps implicit in this approach: almost all methods previously employed neglect current medical insights into enthesopathies and the distinction between healthy and pathological aspects has been arbitrary. This study presents a new visual method of studying fibrocartilaginous enthesopathies of the upper limb (modified from Villotte: Bull Mém Soc Anthropol Paris n.s. 18 (2006) 65–85), and application of this method to 367 males who died between the 18th and 20th centuries, from four European identified skeletal collections: the Christ Church Spitalfields Collection, the identified skeletal collection of the anthropological museum of the University of Coimbra, and the Sassari and Bologna collections of the museum of Anthropology, University of Bologna. The analysis, using generalized estimating equations to model repeated binary outcome variables, has established a strong link between enthesopathies and physical activity: men with occupations involving heavy manual tasks have significantly (P‐value < 0.001) more lesions of the upper limbs than nonmanual and light manual workers. Probability of the presence of an enthesopathy also increases with age and is higher for the right side compared with the left. Our study failed to distinguish significant differences between the collections when adjusted for the other effects. It appears that enthesopathies can be used to reconstruct past lifestyles of populations if physical anthropologists: 1) pay attention to the choice of entheses in their studies and 2) use appropriate methods. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Upper limb kinematics and the role of the wrist during stone tool production

Past studies have hypothesized that aspects of hominin upper limb morphology are linked to the ability to produce stone tools. However, we lack the data on upper limb motions needed to evaluate the biomechanical context of stone tool production. This study seeks to better understand the biomechanics of stone tool‐making by investigating upper limb joint kinematics, focusing on the role of the wrist joint, during simple flake production. We test the hypotheses, based on studies of other upper limb activities (e.g., throwing), that upper limb movements will occur in a proximal‐to‐distal sequence, culminating in rapid wrist flexion just prior to strike. Data were captured from four amateur knappers during simple flake production using a VICON motion analysis system (50 Hz). Results show that subjects utilized a proximal‐to‐distal joint sequence and disassociated the shoulder joint from the elbow and wrist joints, suggesting a shared strategy employed in other contexts (e.g., throwing) to increase target accuracy. The knapping strategy included moving the wrist into peak extension (subject peak grand mean = 47.3°) at the beginning of the downswing phase, which facilitated rapid wrist flexion and accelerated the hammerstone toward the nodule. This sequence resulted in the production of significantly more mechanical work, and therefore greater strike forces, than would otherwise be produced. Together these results represent a strategy for increasing knapping efficiency in Homo sapiens and point to aspects of skeletal anatomy that might be examined to assess potential knapping ability and efficiency in fossil hominin taxa. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:134‐145, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Worker interests and male production in Polistes gallicus, a Mediterranean social wasp

The resolution of social conflict in colonies may accord with the interests of the most numerous party. In social insect colonies with single once-mated queens, workers are more closely related to the workers' sons than they are to the queens' sons. Therefore, they should prefer workers to produce males, against the queen's interests. Workers are capable of producing males as they arise from unfertilized eggs. We found Polistes gallicus to have colonies of single, once-mated queens, as determined by microsatellite genotyping of the workers, so worker interests predict worker male production. In colonies lacking queens, workers produced the males, but not in colonies with original queens. Thus worker interests were expressed only when the queen was gone. The high fraction of missing queens and early end to the colony cycle relative to climate so early in the season is surprising and may indicate a forceful elimination of the queen.     

Divergence in Male and Female Manipulative Behaviors with the Intensification of Metallurgy in Central Europe

Humeral morphology has been shown to reflect, in part, habitual manipulative behaviors in humans. Among Central European agricultural populations, long-term social change, increasing task specialization, and technological innovation all had the potential to impact patterns of habitual activity and upper limb asymmetry. However, systematic temporal change in the skeletal morphology of agricultural populations in this region has not been well-characterized. This study investigates diachronic patterns in humeral biomechanical properties and lengths among 174 adult Central European agriculturalists through the first ∼5400 years of farming in the region. Greater asymmetry in biomechanical properties was expected to accompany the introduction of metallurgy, particularly in males, while upper limb loading patterns were expected to be more similar between the Bronze and Iron Ages. Results revealed a divergence in the lateralization of upper limb biomechanical properties by sex between the Early/Middle Neolithic and Early/Middle Bronze Age. Neolithic females had significantly more variable properties than males in both humeri, while Bronze Age female properties became homogeneous and very symmetrical relative to the right-biased lateralization of contemporaneous males. The Bronze Age to Iron Age transition was associated with morphological change among females, with a significant increase in right-biased asymmetry and a concomitant reduction in sexual dimorphism. Relative to biomechanical properties, humeral length variation and asymmetry were low though some significant sexual dimorphism and temporal change was found. It was among females that the lateralization of humeral biomechanical properties, and variation within them, changed most profoundly through time. This suggests that the introduction of the ard and plow, metallurgical innovation, task specialization, and socioeconomic change through ∼5400 years of agriculture impacted upper limb loading in Central European women to a greater extent than men.     

Habitual throwing and swimming correspond with upper limb diaphyseal strength and shape in modern human athletes

Variation in upper limb long bone cross‐sectional properties may reflect a phenotypically plastic response to habitual loading patterns. Structural differences between limb bones have often been used to infer past behavior from hominin remains; however, few studies have examined direct relationships between behavioral differences and bone structure in humans. To help address this, cross‐sectional images (50% length) of the humeri and ulnae of university varsity‐level swimmers, cricketers, and controls were captured using peripheral quantitative computed tomography. High levels of humeral robusticity were found in the dominant arms of cricketers, and bilaterally among swimmers, whereas the most gracile humeri were found in both arms of controls, and the nondominant arms of cricketers. In addition, the dominant humeri of cricketers were more circular than controls. The highest levels of ulnar robusticity were also found in the dominant arm of cricketers, and bilaterally amongst swimmers. Bilateral asymmetry in humeral rigidity among cricketers was greater than swimmers and controls, while asymmetry for ulnar rigidity was greater in cricketers than controls. The results suggest that more mechanically loaded upper limb elements––unilaterally or bilaterally––are strengthened relative to less mechanically loaded elements, and that differences in mechanical loading may have a more significant effect on proximal compared to distal limb segments. The more circular humerus in the dominant arm in cricketers may be an adaptation to torsional strain associated with throwing activities. The reported correspondence between habitual activity patterns and upper limb diaphyseal properties may inform future behavioral interpretations involving hominin skeletal remains. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The influence of body proportions on femoral and tibial midshaft shape in hunter‐gatherers

Variation in femoral and tibial diaphyseal shape is used as an indicator of adaptation to patterns of terrestrial mobility. Recent experimentation has implied that lower limb diaphyseal shape may be primarily influenced by lower limb length, and less so by mobility patterns. If valid, this would, at most, render previous interpretations of mobility patterns based on analyses of diaphyseal shape questionable, and, at least, require additional standardization that considers the influence of limb length. Although the consequences could be profound, this implication has yet to be directly tested. Additionally, the influence of body breadth on tibial shape (and to a lesser extent femoral shape) remains uncertain. Tibial and femoral cross‐sectional midshaft shape measurements, taken from nine Pleistocene and Holocene skeletal populations, were compared against lower limb length, limb segment length, and bi‐iliac breadth. Generally, limb length and limb segment length do not significantly influence femoral or tibial midshaft shape. After controlling for body mass greater bi‐iliac breadth is associated with a relative mediolateral strengthening of the femoral midshaft, while the influence of a wider body shape (BIB/length) is associated with a relative M‐L strengthening of the tibia and femur of males, and the tibia of females. We conclude that; (1) mechanical interpretations of lower limb diaphyseal shape are most parsimonious due to the lack of evidence for a consistent relationship between segment length and shape; however, (2) further work is required to investigate the influence of bi‐iliac breadth on both femoral and tibial midshaft shape. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Acquisition of the lateral inconsistency in involuntary behaviour of upper limbs in 12-year-old children during walking at moderate speed.

The aim of this work was to investigate possible lateralisation in the behaviour of periodic motion of the human upper limb, during normal walking at a comfortable speed of locomotion. Ten healthy pre-adolescent, strongly right-handed, 12-year-old males participated in the experiment. Participants were walking on a treadmill with a standardised velocity of 1.1m/s (comfortable speed for all of them). A video analysis system with Silicon software was used to synchronically measure various angles of arms and forearms. The initial, final and interim angular positions of both arms and forearms in 10 cycles of each participant were compared in terms of variations (cycle to cycle) between both upper extremities at corresponding phases of each cycle for distal and proximal segments, respectively. We compared the coefficients of variation in relation to the spatial and temporal data of both limbs and their angular velocities. In addition we investigated the level of cycle-to-cycle regularity (constancy) of behaviour in relation to various positions, periods and velocities of movement of upper extremities (specifically arms and forearms) using the Eta non-linear method of correlation. All participants exhibited a lower level of regularity for the distal segments. The spatial and temporal variations in the dominant limb were also greater than the non-dominant limb for all participants. This may be due to a larger contribution from the right-sided muscles that are considered to be the main contributing factor to the motion of the dominant upper limb during walking, rather than simply gravity force acting alone. A possible practical application of this information may be useful in the objective clinical identification of the level of dominance of the upper extremity (arm plus forearm), in addition to 'traditional' handedness.     

Males that drop a sexually selected weapon grow larger testes

Costly sexually selected weapons are predicted to trade off with postcopulatory traits, such as testes. Although weapons can be important for achieving access to females, individuals of some species can permanently drop (i.e. autotomize) their weapons, without regeneration, to escape danger. We capitalized on this natural behavior to experimentally address whether the loss of a sexually selected weapon leads to increased testes investment in the leaf‐footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata Stål (Hemiptera: Coreidae). In a second experiment, we measured offspring production for males that lost a weapon during development. As predicted, males that dropped a hind limb during development grew significantly larger testes than the control treatments. Hind‐limb autotomy did not result in the enlargement of other nearby traits. Our results are the first to experimentally demonstrate that males compensate for natural weapon loss by investing more in testes. In a second experiment we found that females paired with males that lost a hind limb had 40% lower egg hatching success than females paired with intact males, perhaps because of lower mating receptivity to males with a lost limb. Importantly, in those cases where viable offspring were produced, males missing a hind limb produced 42% more offspring than males with intact limbs. These results suggest that the loss of a hind‐limb weapon can, in some cases, lead to greater fertilization success.     

Does ‘gliding while gravid’ explain Rensch's rule in flying lizards?

Among species with sexual size dimorphism (SSD), taxa in which males are the larger sex have increasing SSD with increasing body size, whereas in taxa in which females are the larger sex, SSD decreases with body size: Rensch's rule. We show in flying lizards, a clade of mostly female‐larger species, that SSD increases with body size, a pattern similar to that in clades with male‐biased SSD or more evenly mixed SSD. The observed pattern in Draco appears due to SSD increasing with evolutionary changes in male body size; specifically divergence in body size among species that are in sympatric congeneric assemblages. We suggest that increasing body size, resulting in decreased gliding performance, reduces the relative gliding cost of gravidity in females, and switches sexual selection in males away from a small‐male, gliding advantage and toward selection on large size and fighting ability as seen in many other lizards. Thus, selection for large females is likely greater than selection for large males at the smaller end of the body size continuum, whereas this relationship reverses for species at the larger end of the continuum. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113 , 270–282.     

上肢长骨的性别判别分析研究

本文对100例(男女各50)国人上肢骨进行了36项测量。统计结果显示所有测量项目均值男性都大于女性并具有显著性的差异。本研究表明可以采用单一指标对破损严重的肢骨进行性别鉴定。36个测量项目中有23项单一指标性别判别率达75％以上,其中9项在80％以上。本文采用Fisher判别分析法建立了56项单一肢骨性别判别函数,判别率为80％—87％。为进一步提高判别效果,采用逐步判别分析法建立了四项逐步性别判别函数,判别率达90％以上。     

A study of the anthropometric correlations between upper limb measurements for personal identification in Sudanese population

The presence of multiple isolated commingled fleshed limbs or limb parts generates a significant challenge for forensic investigators in wars, mass disasters, and criminal assaults in the process of identification. Although upper limb measurements have been used to establish individual identity in terms of sex and stature with high success, there is a scarcity of data concerning the correlations within upper limb parts. Hence, this study aims to assess the relationships within upper limb parts and develop regression formulae to reconstruct the parts from one another. The study participants were 376 Sudanese adults (187 males and 189 females). The results of this study indicated significant sexual dimorphism for all variables. The results indicated a significant correlation within the upper limb parts. Linear and multiple regression equations were developed to reconstruct the upper limb parts in the presence of a single or multiple dimension(s) from the identical limb. Multiple regression equations generated better reconstructions than simple equations. These results are significant in forensics and orthopedic reconstructive surgery.     

VEGF modulates synaptic activity in the developing spinal cord

Although it has been documented that the nervous and the vascular systems share numerous analogies and are closely intermingled during development and pathological processes, interactions between the two systems are still poorly described. In this study, we investigated whether vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a key regulator of vascular development, also modulates neuronal developmental processes. We report that VEGF enhances the gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)/glycinergic but not glutamatergic synaptic activity in embryonic spinal motoneurons (MNs), without affecting MNs excitability. In response to VEGF, the frequency of these synaptic events but not their amplitude was increased. Blocking endogenous VEGF led to an opposite effect by decreasing frequency of synaptic events. We found that this effect occurred specifically at early developmental stages (E13.5 and E15.5) and vanished at the prenatal stage E17.5. Furthermore, VEGF was able to increase vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter density at the MN membrane. Inhibition of single VEGF receptors did not modify electrophysiological parameters indicating receptor combinations or an alternative pathway. Altogether, our findings identify VEGF as a modulator of the neuronal activity during synapse formation and highlight a new ontogenic role for this angiogenic factor in the nervous system. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 74: 1110–1122, 2014     

湖南、湖北、贵州土家族成人的体成分比较

体成分指的是身体脂肪、蛋白质、肌肉、水等含量在体质量中所占的百分比.各成分之间的合理比例,对于维持机体的正常运行,十分重要.因此身体成分的研究一直是国内外研究的热点.体成分存在着人种和民族差异,因此它也是人类学研究的重要课题.目前的研究主要集中在中国青少年、大学生的体成分及体成分与其他身体指标的关系,而对于土家族的研究...     

中国人群的体部指数

本文通过对63452例18～97岁的中国人体部12项指数值的统计分析,得出目前该年龄段中国人的体部形态特征。研究发现,中国人总体体型为长躯干型、中肩型、中骨盆型、中腿型。男性为中胸型,女性为宽胸型。随着年龄增长,上半身会显得更短一些,上半身与下半身比例更小一些,胸部更显宽厚一些,躯干下部显得更宽一些,腿显得更长一些。与南方族群相比,蒙古语族群、突厥语族群身体更壮实一些,胸部更显得宽厚一些,上身更高一些,上肢显得短一些,躯干的上部(肩部)相对窄一些,躯干的下部(骨盆)相对更宽一些,上肢长和下肢长度比例更小一些。研究还发现,同等身高的男性和女性相比,男性的上肢长度、下肢长度一般都小于女性,而女性比男性有一个更大的坐高值。从躯干长度来比较,女性确实比男性腿短一些。下身长相等的中国男性、女性之间相比,女性的坐高大于男性。同等身高情况下,中国人的坐高比欧亚人种、非洲人种的坐高要大,即有较高的上半身高度。     

布朗族成人的身体成分分析

本文采用生物阻抗分析法,研究了布朗族成人的体成分特点。我们在云南省测量了604例（男性248例,女性356例）布朗族成人19项身体成分指标,运用Excel 2003、Spss 19.0对其各项指标进行统计分析。结果显示,男性全身脂肪分布特征为躯干和下肢的脂肪率都大于上肢脂肪率,女性脂肪率从大到小依次为下肢、躯干、上肢;男、女性双侧下肢脂肪率和肌肉量接近,左上肢肌肉量低、脂肪率高;布朗族男性的身高、体质量、肌肉量、推定骨量、总能量代谢、水分率、内脏脂肪等级均大于女性,而体脂率、BMI小于女性。随着年龄的增长,布朗族成人身体肌肉量、骨量、下肢脂肪率、能量代谢等呈明显下降,而内脏脂肪等级明显增加。与云南汉族比较,布朗族成人的体脂率较低、肌肉较发达。     

Genetic influences on the development of grip strength in adolescence

Enhanced physical strength is a secondary sex characteristic in males. Sexual dimorphism in physical strength far exceeds sex differences in stature or total body mass, suggesting a legacy of intense sexual selection. Upper‐body strength is a particularly promising marker of intrasexual competitiveness in young men. Consequently, it is assumed that sex‐influenced gene expression contributes to the development of physical strength. It is unclear, however, whether the underlying sources of individual differences in strength development are comparable across sex. We obtained three measurements of hand‐grip strength (HGS) over a six‐year period spanning adolescence in male and female same‐sex twins (N = 2,513). Biometrical latent growth models were used to partition the HGS variance at age 11 (intercept) and its growth over time (slope) into genetic and environmental components. Results demonstrated that variance around the intercept was highly heritable in both males and females (88% and 79%, respectively). In males, variance around the slope exceeded that of the intercept, while the reverse held for females. Additive genetic effects accounted for most (80%) of the variance around the slope in males, but were of less importance in females (heritability = 28%). Absolute genetic variance around the slope was nearly nine‐fold higher in males. This striking disparity suggests that the developmental processes shaping HGS growth are different between the sexes. We propose that this might account for the sex‐specific pattern of associations between HGS and external measures (e.g., digit ratio and physical aggression) typically reported in the literature. Our results underscore the role of endogenous androgenic influences in the development of physical strength. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:189–200, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.