山西洪洞西冯堡清代墓地缠足女性的骨骼损伤和关节疾病

女性缠足是山西洪洞西冯堡墓地埋葬人群中一处值得关注的文化现象,相关人骨遗存为研究山西地区明清时期的缠足习俗提供了珍贵的考古资料。本文主要对山西洪洞西冯堡清代墓地出土的93例女性人骨标本中与缠足行为关系较为密切的骨骼损伤和关节疾病现象进行统计与分析,以窥探缠足与未缠足女性的健康状况。统计结果显示： 1)在膝关节和足部骨关节上,缠足女性有更高的骨性关节炎发生率;2)在肘关节和左侧腕关节的患病程度上,缠足女性与未缠足女性群体基本相当;在右侧和双侧腕关节以及手部关节的患病等级上,缠足女性略大于未缠足女性;3)西冯堡墓地各椎段椎体周缘骨赘患病率上,缠足女性均高于未缠足女性,颈椎和腰椎是所有女性患病最严重的部位;4)两个群体的骨骼损伤和骨性关节炎的患病率和患病程度均未表现出显著差异,这可能是与下层平民家庭对女性经济价值追求的背景下缠足与未缠足女性均需承担体力劳动有关。     

“地衣”词考

本文考证了中国先秦时期到清末古籍中对“地衣”的解释;其中有共生学意义的“地衣”一词,是在清代李善兰的《植物学》一书中被提出的。     

内蒙古和林格尔土城子农业人群与林西井沟子游牧人群股骨中部的生物力学对比

肢骨的形态结构可以反映人类进化、古代人群的生存适应性活动和生存环境等重要信息。基于“骨骼功能适应”和“杠杆原理”,有学者对不同生计方式的古代人群下肢股骨开展了大量的研究工作,但是,国内外尚未有关于农业人群和游牧人群股骨之间差异性研究的报道。本文选取两个具有代表性的古代人群,即内蒙古和林格尔土城子戍边农业人群和内蒙古林西井沟子游牧人群进行对比研究。通过对股骨骨干中部横断面生物力学分析发现,农业人群股骨粗壮度与游牧人群之间具有显著差异。前者的平均粗壮度较大,后者女性组下肢骨的活动强度明显较小,这可能与游牧人群经常从事骑马活动而下肢骨活动强度相对较少有关。农业人群股骨指数的变异范围均大于游牧人群,这可能与前者男性的士兵身份有关;同时,也提示土城子男性组股骨所反映的行为活动信息并不代表真正意义上的纯农业人群下肢骨行为模式,而是一种农业和士兵行为的混合模式。在性别分工上,井沟子组的男女性均从事骑马活动,两侧股骨受力较为一致,在两侧不对称性程度和骨干横断面形状上的男女差异不大;男性股骨的粗壮度要明显大于女性,这与井沟子组男性还从事一定的狩猎行为有关。与游牧人群女性较为纤细的股骨不同,土城子组女性作为典型的农业人群代表,其下肢骨整体的活动强度较大,几乎与同组的男性和井沟子组男性相当,组内的性别差异相对较小;骨干横断面形状的显著性差异说明,土城子组内部男性和女性的行为活动方式存在明显的性别分工。本文研究结果说明农业人群女性的下肢骨活动强度较大,在行为活动方式上,戍边农业人群具有更为明显的性别分工。     

北京军都山古代居民的颅骨创伤

北京延庆军都山墓地是东周时期玉皇庙文化的代表性墓地。对墓地出土125例个体颅骨创伤的观察表明,军都山男性颅骨创伤的发生率为13.3%,均为生前钝器伤;女性和未成年个体则未发现有颅骨创伤病例。颅骨创伤的发生没有时代变化或墓葬等级间的差异。军都山古代男性居民较高的颅骨创伤率与暴力冲突关系最为密切,是军都山社会关系不稳定性的一种体现,与农牧交错区生态的脆弱性、外来人群流入以及与周边定居农业人群互动等因素所导致的竞争增强有关。     

细胞核和有性生殖是如何起源的?

真核生物的起源是一个根本性的、令人生畏的进化谜题, 目前设想的关于“核”起源的流行情景还远谈不上清晰。关于真核生物的起源可谓众说纷纭, 有共营模型、自演化模型、病毒性真核生物起源模型和外膜假说, 等等。迄今为止, 真核演化的动因则鲜有涉及。笔者发现, 从原核生物到真核生物, 基因组的DNA总量大约增加了3.5个数量级, 而这与现代真核生物的DNA压缩比(packing ratio)惊人地一致! 这样, 仅仅用偶然的吞噬、共生或寄生来解释真核生物的起源, 无论如何是难以让人信服的(其实, 正是内共生理论将人们引入了歧途), 而关键是需要解释基因组为何急剧增大。这可能与DNA的复制错误或多倍化现象不无关系, 当然并非完全排除不同种类个体之间的侧向的基因流动或整合的可能贡献。不难理解, DNA压缩机制的成型应该就是迈向真核生物的关键一步, 自然还伴随了细胞内部的结构分化、更为精巧而复杂的细胞分裂机制的发展, 等等。因此, 本文提出细胞核起源的新学说——压缩与结构化假说。此外, 从分子遗传学的角度来说, “性”一点都不神秘, 就是将两个个体的基因组拼在一起而已, 藉此种族多样的遗传信息分散到了个体之中; 而从生态的角度来看, “性”的原始动机就是与休眠事件的偶联。     

本科遗传学教学中的遗传漂变概念探讨

遗传漂变是遗传学教学的难点之一,因其涉及随机性和概率,特别容易引起误解。定义中的“抽样误差”常被误解为遗传漂变是由于“抽样”这一研究方法干扰才导致基因频率的随机变化。本文首先对国内外《遗传学》教材中的遗传漂变定义进行了分析比较,发现“抽样误差”的定义为各教材普遍采用,但只有少数教材对“抽样误差”概念进行了正确的解释,多数未作进一步的说明。文章介绍了遗传漂变的研究历史,亦即Wright、 Fisher和Kimura等学者对遗传漂变研究的贡献。进而,特别介绍了近年来国外关于本科生遗传漂变教学的两篇代表性教学研究论文,指出本科生在学习过程中容易出现错误理解是难以避免的现象,对此也提供了初步的解决办法。作者最后结合自己的教学实践,提出本科生教学中遗传漂变仍然采用含有“抽样误差”概念的定义,只是需要对“抽样误差”做进一步的解释,指出“抽样误差”是等位基因世代传递过程中存在的、配子间的随机结合,“相当于”对整个参与交配的配子库中的配子进行的一次“随机抽样”,而与一般遗传学研究中的人为抽样行为无关。本文旨在为本科遗传学教学中关于遗传源变概念的讲解提供借鉴和参考。     

新疆吐鲁番加依墓地的母婴合葬现象

新疆吐鲁番加依墓地位于吐鲁番市亚尔乡加依村南3公里的戈壁台地上,其年代大致在青铜-早期铁器时代。本文结合人类骨骼考古学、死亡考古学与临床医学的方法,对其中4例疑似的母婴合葬墓（M31、M70、M222、M224）进行了研究。通过对墓葬中遗骸的生物学信息以及埋藏位置信息的采集与分析,判断这4座墓葬中的个体关系应当为母亲和其婴儿。其中,3座墓葬中的母婴个体为分娩后死亡,1座墓葬中的母亲和胎儿个体死于孕期或者分娩过程中。造成这些个体死亡的直接原因可能是难产和产褥期疾病,营养不良和感染性疾病等因素也增加了他们的死亡风险。这4座墓葬一方面体现了古代女性生育所面临的困难,一方面体现了加依先民们对于母婴联结以及“灵魂”的认识,将母婴葬于一室不仅是对死者的关怀,更是对生者的告慰。本文的研究旨在为解读古代遗址中的母婴合葬墓提供一个新视角。     

围小丛壳Glomerella cingulata子囊孢子交配繁殖、生物学特性及致病性

炭疽叶枯病（Glomerella leaf spot）是我国苹果上新发现的一种病害。为了解围小丛壳Glomerella cingulata子囊孢子的交配方式、生物学特性和致病性,从安徽砀山、山东牟平等地采集病害样品,经分离培养和纯化获得单孢菌株。在适宜条件下单孢菌株可产生子囊和子囊孢子,经过毛细管破子囊壁后单孢分离,获得12个子囊,每个子囊有8个子囊孢子。其中10个子囊中有4个“正”孢子（+）和4个“负”孢子（-）,2个子囊中只有“负”孢子。子囊孢子单孢菌株培养72h,“正”菌株菌落白色,以营养生长为主;“负”菌株菌落灰白色,直径略小于正菌株,菌丝稀疏,边缘菌丝白色,中部有大量橙色的分生孢子堆。“正”、“负”菌株异宗配合后,可产生大量可育子囊壳;单独的“正”菌株有性生殖产生稀疏丛簇状的可育子囊壳;单个的“负”菌株只能产生分散且不育的子囊壳。“正”、“负”菌株菌落的生长速度没有差异,对温度、营养、光照和pH值的敏感性也没有差异,但“正”、“负”菌株的致病性存在差异。正菌株的有性生殖没有导致rDNA-ITS、β-tubulin基因碱基序列变异。     

新医学是解决人类健康问题的真正钥匙——需“精准”理解奥巴马的“精准医学计划”

2015年年初,美国总统奥巴马在国情咨文中提出了一个预算2.15亿美元的“精准医学计划”,希望以此“引领一个医学时代”。新闻一经发布,“精准医学”立刻成为了媒体和百姓嘴边的热词,受此影响国内亦有不少人士纷纷为美国总统的这一计划点“赞”。有人用“医学革命”来形容它,有人用“开创性”来抬高它,还有一个传闻,受奥巴马“精准医学计划”的影响,中国将在15年内投入600亿元人民币启动并发展中国版的“精准医学计划”。对此,有人提出了质疑,美国版精准医学计划是否符合中国国情?是否存在“水土不服”的可能?直接套用美国总统的智慧能否解决具有中国特色的实际问题?争论由此引发一个让人思考的问题,究竟什么才是现代医学的核心?在盲目堆钱的行动前,我们确实有必要从科学和临床应用的角度来探讨和思考一下现代医学的发展方向。 为了能“精准”地看到问题的实质,我将从当下时髦并且相关的词汇谈起,通过梳理,期待找出解决人类健康问题的真正钥匙。     

基于报告基因敲入构建果生刺盘孢细胞核荧光标记菌株

运用基因敲入技术,将GFP、mCherry整合到果生刺盘孢 Colletotrichum fructicola组蛋白histone H1位点,实现融合表达,获得细胞核荧光标记菌株。基于标记菌株可以对分生孢子、营养菌丝、附着胞、侵染菌丝等结构中的细胞核进行实时活体观察。果生刺盘孢存在性亲和的“+”、“-”型菌株分化,GFP“+”型菌株和mCherry“-”型菌株接触形成明显杂交线,杂交线上单子囊内含红绿两种孢子,表明“+”、“-”型菌株间发生杂交;杂交线上子囊壳壁表达mCherry,表明由“-”型菌株发育而来。本研究构建的核荧光标记菌株将是研究果生炭疽菌细胞周期调控和有性繁殖过程的重要材料。     

山东古代居民骨化甲状软骨的观测

本文以山东地区6处考古遗址出土的18例古代居民的骨化甲状软骨为研究材料,结合现代医学和法医学的研究,通过对甲状软骨骨化情况的观察分析以及部分数据测量,发现古代居民中骨化甲状软骨多保存骨板下缘、下结节以及上下角,而且骨化甲状软骨对古代居民性别和年龄的判断有一定指示作用。甲状软骨在骨化程度、进展速度以及骨化机制上存在性别差异,古代居民中男性比女性更容易保存骨化甲状软骨,且男性多见保存联合部中下段,女性并无个体保存联合部。另外在本文的骨化甲状软骨的两项测量数据上,男性明显大于女性。甲状软骨的骨化个体间差异很大,单独使用甲状软骨骨化规律进行年龄判断并不可取,但可作为一种参考依据来辅助判断。值得注意的是,保存有骨化甲状软骨且年龄明确的古代居民皆大于30岁。     

Adult obesity and number of years lived with and without cardiovascular disease

Objective: To determine the differences in number of years lived free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and number of years lived with CVD between men and women who were obese, pre‐obese, or normal weight at 45 years of age. Research Methods and Procedures: We constructed multistate life tables for CVD, myocardial infarction, and stroke, using data from 2551 enrollees (1130 men) in the Framingham Heart Study who were 45 years of age. Results: Obesity and pre‐obesity were associated with fewer number of years free of CVD, myocardial infarction, and stroke and an increase in the number of years lived with these diseases. Forty‐five‐year‐old obese men with no CVD survived 6.0 years [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.1; 8.1] fewer than their normal weight counterparts, whereas, for women, the difference between obese and normal weight subjects was 8.4 years (95% CI: 6.2; 10.8). Obese men and women lived with CVD 2.7 (95% CI: 1.0; 4.4) and 1.4 years (95% CI: ?0.3; 3.2) longer, respectively, than normal weight individuals. Discussion: In addition to reducing life expectancy, obesity before middle age is associated with a reduction in the number of years lived free of CVD and an increase in the number of years lived with CVD. Such information is paramount for preventive and therapeutic decision‐making by individuals and practitioners alike.     

黄陵寨头河与史家河墓地人骨的碳氮稳定同位素

戎人在古代多样性文化历史发展进程中有着不可忽视的作用,由于文献记载的匮乏,对其生活历史信息的认知极少。陕西延安黄陵寨头河与史家河战国时期戎人墓地的考古发掘,为了解古代关中地区戎人的社会生活提供了珍贵的实物资料。本文则以两墓地出土的人骨为研究对象,采用C、N稳定同位素分析方法,讨论先民的饮食结构,探索其经济模式。结果表明：寨头河与史家河墓地先民的食谱相似,食谱中植物性食物主要来自粟、黍等C₄类作物;除史家河墓地两个个体外,其余先民动物蛋白摄入较少,且未因性别不同而产生食谱差异。史家河墓地战国晚期秦人与早中期戎人的饮食结构相似。结合其他考古资料以及文献可知,寨头河与史家河墓地先民吸收关中农业文化后,利用当地良好的自然环境发展农业,形成了以农业种植为主、农牧混合的经济模式。     

Cohort study of effect of being overweight and change in weight on risk of coronary heart disease in old age.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate risk of late life coronary heart disease associated with being overweight in late middle or old age and to assess whether weight change modifies this risk. DESIGN: Longitudinal study of subjects in the epidemiological follow up study of the national health and nutrition examination survey I. SETTING: United States. SUBJECTS: 621 men and 960 women free of coronary heart disease in 1982-84 (mean age 77 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Incidence of coronary heart disease. RESULTS: Body mass index of 27 or more in late middle age was associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease in late life (relative risk = 1.7 (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.1)) while body mass index of 27 or more in old age was not (1.1 (0.8 to 1.5)). This difference in risk was due largely to weight loss between middle and old age. Exclusion of those with weight loss of 10% or more increased risk associated with heavier weight in old age (1.4 (1.0 to 1.9)). Thinner older people who lost weight and heavier people who had gained weight showed increased risk of coronary heart disease compared with thinner people with stable weight. CONCLUSIONS: Heavier weight in late middle age was a risk factor for coronary heart disease in late life. Heavier weight in old age was associated with an increased risk once those with substantial weight loss were excluded. The contribution of weight to risk of coronary heart disease in older people may be underestimated if weight history is neglected.     

Does plasma cholesterol concentration predict mortality from coronary heart disease in elderly people? 18 year follow up in Whitehall study.

OBJECTIVE--To explore the extent to which the relation between plasma cholesterol concentration and risk of death from coronary heart disease in men persists into old age. DESIGN--18 year follow up of male Whitehall civil servants. Plasma cholesterol concentrations and other risk factors were determined at first examination in 1967-9 when they were aged 40-69. Death of men up to 31 January 1987 was recorded. SUBJECTS--18,296 male civil servants, 4155 of whom died during follow up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Cause and age of death. Cholesterol concentration in 1967-9 and number of years elapsed between testing and death. RESULTS--1676 men died of coronary heart disease. The mean cholesterol concentration in these men was 0.32 mmol/l higher than that in all other men (95% confidence interval 0.26 to 0.37 mmol/l). This difference in cholesterol concentrations fell 0.15 mmol/l with every 10 years'' increase in age at screening. The risk of raised cholesterol concentration fell with age at death. Compared with other men cholesterol concentration in those who died of coronary heart disease was 0.44 mmol/l higher in those who died aged less than 60 and 0.26 mmol/l higher in those aged 60-79 (p = 0.03). For a given age at death the longer the gap between cholesterol measurement and death the more predictive the cholesterol concentration, both for coronary heart disease and all cause mortality (trend test p = 0.06 and 0.03 respectively). CONCLUSION--Reducing plasma cholesterol concentrations in middle age may influence the risk of death from coronary heart disease in old age.     

Death and the Oldest Old: Attitudes and Preferences for End-of-Life Care - Qualitative Research within a Population-Based Cohort Study

IntroductionIncreasing longevity means more people will be dying in very old age, but little is known about the preferences of the ‘oldest old’ regarding their care at the end of life.AimsTo understand very old people’s preferences regarding care towards the end of life and attitudes towards dying, to inform policy and practice.MethodsQualitative data collection for n = 42 population-based cohort study participants aged 95–101 (88% women, 42% in long-term-care): topic-guided interviews with n = 33 participants and n = 39 proxy informants, most with both (n = 30: 4 jointly + separate interviews for 26 dyads).ResultsDeath was a part of life: these very old people mainly live day-to-day. Most were ready to die, reflecting their concerns regarding quality of life, being a nuisance, having nothing to live for and having lived long enough. Contrasting views were rare exceptions but voiced firmly. Most were not worried about death itself, but concerned more about the dying process and impacts on those left behind; a peaceful and pain-free death was a common ideal. Attitudes ranged from not wanting to think about death, through accepting its inevitable approach to longing for its release. Preferring to be made comfortable rather than have life-saving treatment if seriously ill, and wishing to avoid hospital, were commonly expressed views. There was little or no future planning, some consciously choosing not to. Uncertainty hampered end-of-life planning even when death was expected soon. Some stressed circumstances, such as severe dependency and others’ likely decision-making roles, would influence choices. Carers found these issues harder to raise but felt they would know their older relatives’ preferences, usually palliative care, although we found two discrepant views.ConclusionsThis study’s rare data show ≥95-year-olds are willing to discuss dying and end-of-life care but seldom do. Formal documentation of wishes is extremely rare and may not be welcome. Although being “ready to die” and preferring a palliative approach predominated, these preferences cannot be assumed.     

Measuring the Speed of Aging across Population Subgroups

People in different subgroups age at different rates. Surveys containing biomarkers can be used to assess these subgroup differences. We illustrate this using hand-grip strength to produce an easily interpretable, physical-based measure that allows us to compare characteristic-based ages across educational subgroups in the United States. Hand-grip strength has been shown to be a good predictor of future mortality and morbidity, and therefore a useful indicator of population aging. Data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) were used. Two education subgroups were distinguished, those with less than a high school diploma and those with more education. Regressions on hand-grip strength were run for each sex and race using age and education, their interactions and other covariates as independent variables. Ages of identical mean hand-grip strength across education groups were compared for people in the age range 60 to 80. The hand-grip strength of 65 year old white males with less education was the equivalent to that of 69.6 (68.2, 70.9) year old white men with more education, indicating that the more educated men had aged more slowly. This is a constant characteristic age, as defined in the Sanderson and Scherbov article “The characteristics approach to the measurement of population aging” published 2013 in Population and Development Review. Sixty-five year old white females with less education had the same average hand-grip strength as 69.4 (68.2, 70.7) year old white women with more education. African-American women at ages 60 and 65 with more education also aged more slowly than their less educated counterparts. African American men with more education aged at about the same rate as those with less education. This paper expands the toolkit of those interested in population aging by showing how survey data can be used to measure the differential extent of aging across subpopulations.     

年龄鉴定的转换分析法及其在月家庄墓地人骨中的应用

转换分析是一种基于贝叶斯统计的人骨年龄鉴定新方法,具有综合多种年龄标志物、不受参考样本影响、适用于老年个体等优势。本文将其用于陕西洛川月家庄墓地人骨年龄鉴定并与传统方法进行对比。结果表明,两种方法构建出的人群死亡年龄结构、生存过程有显著差异：转换分析得到的最高寿命、平均死亡年龄明显高于传统方法,更多个体可存活至中老年。两种方法鉴定出的年龄差值受样本保存状况、年龄阶段的影响,存在结构性差别。转换分析是人骨年龄鉴定方法的重大创新,使鉴定过程标准化、鉴定误差定量化。未来需使用一些年龄已知的个体开展更多验证研究,以评估该方法对我国人骨样本的适用性及不同软件间的差异。     

Economic and social correlates of infant mortality: A cross‐sectional and longitudinal analysis of 63 selected countries

Abstract

Genealogical records containing birth and death dates for completed families have been analyzed to compare the longevity of twins, sibs and parents. The data are restricted to twins and sibs who survived to adulthood and married. The findings, similar to those found with respect to fertility (Wyshak and White, 1969), show that twins, especially male twins, are disadvantaged in comparison with their male sibs. Sib‐sib and parent‐offspring correlation analysis confirmed that there is a genetic component in the determination of life span, but environmental factors contribute more to the total variation. No evidence of a stronger maternal than paternal effect was found. Twin bearers also lived longer than nontwin bearers. Even among persons who survived to age SO or more, parents of twins had more children and lived slightly longer than their twin and nontwin offspring. Regression analysis for persons who survived to SO or longer indicated that, in addition to life span of parents, secularity (year of death) and fertility (number of children borne) were the best predictors of longevity, though only a small proportion of the variation could be accounted for by these and other demographic variables. Life span has shown a consistent increase over time from the seventeenth century through the nineteenth century, while fertility has tended to decline. However, among persons surviving to age SO, when the relation between secularity and fertility and secularity and longevity is controlled, a significant correlation between fertility and longevity remains. This relation, observed in populations that did not practice voluntary family size limitation, would not be found in contemporary data. Maternal mortality accounted for the shorter life span of women than for men; eliminating its effect gives women a slight advantage. The fertility and longevity experience of migrants who survived to age SO is more favorable than that of persons who did not migrate.