Reported versus measured adult statures

Reported and measured statures were obtained for 100 husband-wife pairs. In addition, wives were asked to specify whether their husbands were tall, medium, or short. Correlations between reported and measured statures are high (0.84–0.97) and wives tend to overestimate their own measured stature by about 1 cm, and that of their husbands by about 1.3 cm. Wives correctly classify their husbands as tall, medium, or short in about 70% of the cases, using terciles of the stature distribution of American men as the standard. Reported statures may be useful proxies for measured statures for certain purposes. In the absence of measured or reported statures, a wife's categorization of her husband as tall, medium, or short may be satisfactory for some group studies.     

Stature estimation in ancient Egyptians: a new technique based on anatomical reconstruction of stature

Trotter and Gleser's (Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 10 (1952) 469-514; Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 16 (1958) 79-123) long bone formulae for US Blacks or derivations thereof (Robins and Shute: Hum Evol 1 (1986) 313-324) have been previously used to estimate the stature of ancient Egyptians. However, limb length to stature proportions differ between human populations; consequently, the most accurate mathematical stature estimates will be obtained when the population being examined is as similar as possible in proportions to the population used to create the equations. The purpose of this study was to create new stature regression formulae based on direct reconstructions of stature in ancient Egyptians and assess their accuracy in comparison to other stature estimation methods. We also compare Egyptian body proportions to those of modern American Blacks and Whites. Living stature estimates were derived using a revised Fully anatomical method (Raxter et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 374-384). Long bone stature regression equations were then derived for each sex. Our results confirm that, although ancient Egyptians are closer in body proportion to modern American Blacks than they are to American Whites, proportions in Blacks and Egyptians are not identical. The newly generated Egyptian-based stature regression formulae have standard errors of estimate of 1.9-4.2 cm. All mean directional differences are less than 0.4% compared to anatomically estimated stature, while results using previous formulae are more variable, with mean directional biases varying between 0.2% and 1.1%, tibial and radial estimates being the most biased. There is no evidence for significant variation in proportions among temporal or social groupings; thus, the new formulae may be broadly applicable to ancient Egyptian remains.     

鄱阳湖湿地大型底栖无脊椎动物多样性对群落次级生产力及稳定性的影响

理解生物多样性对生态系统功能及稳定性的影响对于制定有效的保护管理策略有重要意义。然而,目前生物多样性与群落生产力、稳定性的关系仍存在争议。在鄱阳湖湿地布设30个采样点,于2019年秋季开展大型底栖无脊椎动物群落野外调查。基于底栖动物群落数据,采用广义加性模型分析物种、谱系、功能多样性对鄱阳湖湿地底栖动物群落次级生产力与稳定性的影响。结果表明:底栖动物群落的次级生产力与反映物种多样性的指数(Simpson多样性指数、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Pielou均匀度指数)、分类多样性指数、平均分类差异指数、功能丰富度指数等呈显著的负相关,其中Pielou均匀度指数与次级生产力的相关度最高(r²=0.33)。功能多样性对群落次级生产力的空间分异有最高的解释度(r²=0.75)。P/B值(次级生产力与生物量之比代表群落稳定性)与物种、谱系、功能多样性指数均呈正相关,其中功能丰富度与P/B值的相关度最高(r²=0.22)。反映物种多样性的三个指数总体上对P/B值的空间分异解释度最高(r²=0.37)。谱系多样性与次级生产力、P/B值的相关性相对较弱。生物多样性指数总体分别解释了次级生产力和群落稳定性中81.9%、54.8%的变异。上述研究结果表明,生物多样性与群落生产力、稳定性的关系可能因具体的生物群落而异。研究结果对于鄱阳湖湿地的底栖生物多样性保护有参考价值。     

Differences in morning–evening type and sleep duration between Black and White adults: Results from a propensity-matched UK Biobank sample

Biological evidence suggests that ethno-racial differences in morning–evening type are possible, whereby Blacks may be more likely to be morning type compared to Whites. However, population-level evidence of ethno-racial difference in morning–evening type is limited. In an earlier study, we reported that morning type was more prevalent in Blacks compared to Whites in the United Kingdom (UK) Biobank cohort (N = 439 933). This study aimed to determine if these ethno-racial differences persisted after accounting for an even broader range of social, environmental and individual characteristics and employing an analytic approach that simulates randomization in observational data, propensity score modeling. Data from UK Biobank participants whose self-identified race/ethnicity was Black/Black British or White; who did not report daytime napping, shift work or night shift work; who provided full mental health information; and who were identified using propensity score matching were used (N = 2044). Each sample was strongly matched across all social, environmental and individual characteristics as indicated by absolute standardized mean differences <0.09 for all variables. The prevalence of reporting nocturnal short, adequate and long sleep as well as morning, intermediate and evening type among Blacks (n = 1022) was compared with a matched sample of Whites (n = 1022) using multinomial logistic regression models. Blacks had a 62% greater odds of being morning type [odds ratio (OR) = 1.620, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.336–1.964, p < .0001] and a more than threefold greater odds of reporting nocturnal short sleep (OR = 3.453, 95% CI: 2.846–4.190, p < .0001) than Whites. These data indicate that the greater prevalence of morning type and short nocturnal sleep in Blacks compared to Whites is not fully explained by a wide range of social and environmental factors. If sleep is an upstream determinant of health, these data suggest that ethno-racially targeted public health sleep intervention strategies are needed.     

Trends in stature in the South Australian Aboriginal Murraylands

Millennial and secular changes in body height of prehistoric and recent Aboriginal South Australians are investigated. Skeletal remains of 55 male and 40 female individuals who were excavated at Roonka on the River Murray were dated from 9800 to 100 years BP. Stature was reconstructed by using humerus, femur, and tibia ratios to stature derived from Abbie's (1975) data on living Aborigines and the Trotter-Gleser method for blacks. The respective averages were 1,652 mm and 1,665 mm for males and 1,527 mm and 1,549 mm for females. In 1996/1997, statures of 27 adult males and 21 adult females were measured in Aboriginal centers of Gerard and Raukkan (Point McLeay) on the Lower River Murray. These people, as far as it can be ascertained, are the descendants of the people from Roonka. Their statures were adjusted for the stature loss with age, so that the data represent young individuals (≤30 years of age). The average male stature was 1,712 mm, and the average female stature was 1,567 mm. Data collected by Wood Jones and Campbell in 1924 for Aboriginal South Australians show that young adult male stature was 1,668 mm (n = 6), and female stature was 1,552 mm (n = 4). Slopes of regressions of individual statures on radiocarbon dates and on dates of birth are not significantly different from zero. The same is true for regressions of individual long bone lengths on radiocarbon dates. It can be concluded that there was little change in stature of Aboriginal South Australians from prehistoric to recent times. Regressions of individual age-corrected heights on birth dates (1860–1980) of Aboriginal men and women measured in 1924 and in 1996 further indicate no significant increase in height in either sex. Am J Phys Anthropol 106:505–514, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Some genetic traits in Solomon Island populations. V. Assortative mating, with special reference to skin color

Married couples in four Solomon Islands tribes did not mate assortatively for body size or shape. All four groups had high correlations (0.6 to 0.9) between spouses' age and moderate correlations, 0.3 to 0.5, for age-associated traits like nose height, ear length, and grayness of hair. Three brownskinned groups from Malaita (Kwaio, Lau, and Baegu) showed significant assortative mating for skin color whereas the very dark-skinned Nasioi, from Bougainville, did not. The positive correlations between spouses for skin color, with r's for various bodily regions ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 in the three Malaitan tribes, persisted when age was partialled out. As expected with assortative mating, the Malaitans' skin color was highly variable.     

Quantitative genetic studies of the human plasma Lp(a) lipoprotein

Lp(a) lipoprotein [Lp(a)] was quantified in 1251 adults, including 300 mother-father-offspring triplets, by a sensitive radial immunodiffusion assay. Lp(a) was not correlated with age, sex, or cholesterol or glyceride concentrations. Significant correlations were found between mother-offspring (r=0.34), father-offspring (r=0.40), and midparent-offspring (r=0.52), whereas no correlation was found between husband-wife pairs (r=0.02). Analysis of triplets separated on the basis of midparent Lp(a) concentrations indicated a resemblance of midparent to offspring regardless of midparent concentration. Bimodality was not detected in any of the offspring distributions. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that the observed quantitative Lp(a) variation is determined by a polygenic model of inheritance. The possibility of major gene effects is not ruled out.     

Short stature in African pygmies is not explained by sexual selection

African pygmies' short stature has been studied for more than a century, but the evolution of this extreme phenotype remains unknown. The present study tests the hypothesis that sexual selection, through preference for short partners, may have contributed to the evolution of pygmies' stature. We gathered anthropometric and familial data from 72 Baka pygmy couples and 27 neighboring Nzimé nonpygmy couples from Cameroon. We found evidence for positive assortative mating and partial evidence for the male-taller norm in both groups. This is surprisingly close to results reported for many modern occidental populations, in which sexual selection is thought to exert a positive selective pressure on men height. Semistructured interviews of Baka pygmies concerning height and mate choice suggested that the male-taller norm matches mating preferences. Stature was also positively correlated with the number of serial marriages contracted by men of both populations, while the stature of women was not related to their mating success. Finally, we did not detect any linear or quadratic effect of height on reproductive success for either men or women. Altogether, our results demonstrate that stature influences mate choice in pygmies, and we argue that, if of any influence for sexual selection, mate choice should have favored tallness rather than shortness in our pygmy population. Consequently, this study establishes that sexual selection is a very unlikely candidate to account for the evolution of pygmies' short stature.     

Fingerprint quantitative variation and asymmetry in Brazilian Whites and Blacks

A total of 432 Whites and 654 Blacks were studied in relation to the index of pattern intensity and a smaller number (296 Whites; 496 Blacks) for total ridge count. There does not exist a clear gradient in either sex when the Blacks are subdivided into three phenotypic categories according to the amount of African ancestry they seem to possess. The standard deviations and coefficients of variation are strikingly similar in all groups studied. Racial differences in the averages of these two quantitative measures and in the asymmetry of total ridge count are small and nonsignificant. Fingerprints are very sensitive indicators of disturbances in the intrauterine development, and their asymmetry has a significant hereditary component. Since there is no increased or decreased asymmetry when we consider subgroups with various amounts of racial admixture, these and other results suggest that genetic adaptation in humans is a process involving mainly the whole species, and not narrow racial specializations.     

Does bone mineralization reflect economic conditions? An examination using a national US sample

BACKGROUND: Bone density is the most important determinant of osteoporotic fractures, which lead to significant morbidity, disability and mortality for older persons, particularly women. Sensitive periods for bone mineralization in infancy, childhood and adolescence overlap with those for height attainment. After peak density is reached in early adulthood, there is age-related decline. We ask whether bone density, as height, reflects economic conditions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Using the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability sample of the US population which over-sampled Blacks and Mexican Americans, we examine the associations between adult bone mineral content (BMC) adjusted for bone and body size and three economic indicators: education, height and the poverty income ratio (PIR). We compare four groups: US-born Whites, Blacks and Mexican Americans and Mexican-born Mexican Americans. RESULTS: Education is positively associated with BMC only for White women, although there are similar, non-significant associations for Black women and White and Black men. For women, BMC is more strongly associated with height for Mexican Americans, especially the Mexican-born, than for Whites. For men, the only significant association is a negative one with education for men born in Mexico. PIR is not significantly associated with BMC, although there is pattern of lower income being associated with lower BMC for Whites and Blacks and higher BMC for Mexican Americans. CONCLUSION: Bone density does not reflect economic conditions as strongly or consistently as does physical stature. However, for women there is evidence that lower economic status in childhood or adolescence is associated with lower bone density.     

Secular change in growth of native children and adolescents at high altitude Huancayo,Peru (3,280 meters)

Stature and weight of native children, adolescents, and adults at Huancayo, Peru (3,280 meters), were measured in 1977, 1978, and 1982 and compared with mean statures and weights reported in previous studies. The data indicate that in Huancayo there has been a secular increment in child stature, sitting height, and weight from 1937 to 1978–1982. The observed changes in stature are related to a proportionally greater increment in leg length relative to trunk length. It is concluded that the observed secular increase in body size reflects changes in the standard of living and a greater influx of nonnative populations, which are usually characterized by greater stature than natives.     

Rules for assortative mating in relation to selection for linear merit functions

Summary This study examined how assortative mating (without selection) based on linear combinations of two traits could be used to change genetic parameters so as to increase efficiency of selection. The efficiency of the Smith-Hazel index for improvement of multiple traits is a function of phenotypic and genetic variances and covariances, and of the relative economic values of the traits involved. Assortative mating is known to change genetic variances and covariances. Recursive formulae were derived to obtain these variances and covariances after t generations of assortative mating on linear combinations (mating rules) of phenotypic values for two traits, with a given correlation between mates. Selection efficiency after t generations of assortative mating without selection was expressed as a function of random mating genetic parameters, economic values, the mating rule, and the correlation between mates. Selection efficiency was maximized with respect to the coefficients in the mating rule. Because the objective function was nonlinear, a computer routine was used for maximizing it. Two cases were considered. When random mating heritabilities for the two traits were h _X ² =0.25 and h _Y ² =0.50, the genetic correlation r_XY=-0.60, and the economic values were a_X=3 and a_Y=1, continued assortative mating based on the optimal mating rule for 31 generations (with a correlation of 0.80 between mates) increased selection efficiency by 29%. Heritabilities changed to 0.38 and 0.66, respectively, and the genetic correlation became – 0.79. When h _X ² =0.60, h _Y ² =0.60, r_XY=– 0.20, a₁=1 and a₂=1, 36 generations of continued assortative mating with the optimal mating rule increased the efficiency of selection by 17%, heritabilities became h _X ² = h _Y ² =0.71, and the genetic correlation changed to 0.25. Only three generations of assortative mating were required to change the sign of the genetic correlation.     

Social Indices of Breeding Productivity in Parkland Mallards

Abstract Social indices were developed to assess breeding productivity of waterfowl based on weekly roadside surveys of social groupings (i.e., pairs, lone M, flocked M). We calculated social indices for mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) populations breeding on 16 study sites in the Canadian parklands from 1993 to 1998 using 7 previously developed indices. We also calculated duckling:pair ratios from our roadside counts, and we obtained independent measures of nesting effort, nesting success, female success, and fledging rate for these same 16 sites from a concurrent telemetry study. Social indices were correlated (r² = 0.28-0.67) with telemetry-based measures of breeding productivity in 5 of 7 cases, with the strongest relationships deriving from indices that emphasized renesting effort. The 2 ineffective social indices (r² ≤ 0.13) both measured early onset of nesting activity. Duckling:pair ratios could be calculated more easily from the same survey data and also were correlated (r² = 0.26-0.48) with measures of breeding productivity. Because surveys measuring late-nesting effort also can enumerate early hatched ducklings, we recommend that waterfowl researchers use duckling:pair ratios rather than social indices because ducking:pair ratios are more easily interpretable. Development of sightability-adjustment factors for pair and duckling surveys could further enhance the utility of duckling:pair ratios as indices of breeding productivity in mallards.     

Coronal breadth of human primary anterior teeth

Original data for mesiodistal diameter of deciduous anterior teeth on 180 White children show: (1) mean size is smallest for the lower central incisor and largest for the upper canine, (2) means from combining widths on the left anterior teeth of each arch are larger in the maxilla than the mandible by 4.0 mm, (3) individual differences for widths of the upper central and lateral incisors extend from one child with these teeth of similar size to another child with the central incisor larger than the lateral by 2.3 mm, and (4) anterior tooth correlations are positive, varying from r = 0.4 for upper canine width with width of lower central incisor, to r = 0.8 for combined widths of left anterior teeth in the maxilla with combined widths of their antagonists. Comparative findings are drawn from investigations on Australian aborigines, South African Bushmen, Liberian Negroes, Tristan da Cunha islanders, Japanese, Japanese-Negro admixtures, Japanese-White admixtures, White groups living in several parts of Europe, and North American Whites. Among these ethnic groups, Australian aborigines have the largest deciduous anterior teeth. Composite means on each sex for North American Whites show boys to have slightly larger anterior deciduous teeth than girls.     

A novel method for estimating the strength of positive mating preference by similarity in the wild

Mating preference can be a driver of sexual selection and assortative mating and is, therefore, a key element in evolutionary dynamics. Positive mating preference by similarity is the tendency for the choosy individual to select a mate which possesses a similar variant of a trait. Such preference can be modelled using Gaussian‐like mathematical functions that describe the strength of preference, but such functions cannot be applied to empirical data collected from the field. As a result, traditionally, mating preference is indirectly estimated by the degree of assortative mating (using Pearson's correlation coefficient, r) in wild captured mating pairs. Unfortunately, r and similar coefficients are often biased due to the fact that different variants of a given trait are nonrandomly distributed in the wild, and pooling of mating pairs from such heterogeneous samples may lead to “false–positive” results, termed “the scale‐of‐choice effect” (SCE). Here we provide two new estimators of mating preference (C_rough and C_scaled) derived from Gaussian‐like functions which can be applied to empirical data. Computer simulations demonstrated that r coefficient showed robust estimations properties of mating preference but it was severely affected by SCE, C_rough showed reasonable estimation properties and it was little affected by SCE, while C_scaled showed the best properties at infinite sample sizes and it was not affected by SCE but failed at biological sample sizes. We recommend using C_rough combined with the r coefficient to infer mating preference in future empirical studies.     

Anterior femoral curvature: Its probable basis and utility as a criterion of racial assessment

Stewart ('62) and Walensky ('65) indicated that while the metrical expression of anterior femoral curvature alone will not always differentiate between Whites, American Negroes, and North American Indians, it was very useful as a racial criterion in combination with observed traits such as torsion, pilastry, and cross-sectional shape. Seven additional North American Indian groups reported here, representing both pre-Columbian and post-contact times, upheld the observation that anterior femoral curvature is a useful feature of racial assessment for Negroes, Whites and North American Indians. However, two South American groups studied (Ecuador and Peru) were only slightly more curved than American Negroes, and were less curved than Whites and North American Indians. The metrical expression of anterior femoral curvature therefore is not a useful feature of racial assessment for separating these two South American Indian groups from Whites and American Negroes. Femora of American Negro and White individuals with low ponderal indices were found to be less bowed than the norms for their race; individuals with high ponderal indices were more bowed than the norm for their race. The assumed genetic basis for expression of anterior femoral curvature suggested by Stewart ('62) and Walensky ('65) seems to be a feature of human plastic response to body weight rather than to temporal, clinal, postural or equestrian influences.     

Wealth, inequality, and insolation effects across the 19th century white US stature distribution

Sources associated with 19th century stature variation have been widely considered. Using US state prison records and robust statistics, this paper illustrates that 19th century US white statures were positively associated with a broad combination of wealth, equality, and environmental characteristics. Individuals from geographic areas characterized by low wealth and high inequality had shorter statures. After controlling for various factors, direct sunlight – the primary source of vitamin D – was also positively associated with stature. After controlling for wealth, inequality, and insolation, farmers were taller than workers in other occupations. These wealth, insolation, and socioeconomic relationships are significant across the stature distribution.     

The perceived effectiveness of continuing care and group support in the long-term self-help treatment of obesity

Objective : Obesity is increasingly considered a chronic disease requiring continuing care, but professional long‐term treatment for most patients is not available. This study examined treatment recipients’ perception of the effectiveness of different components of a group self‐help, continuing‐care treatment program for obesity. Research Methods and Procedures : Members (n = 120) and volunteer leaders (n = 66) of a self‐help, continuing‐care treatment program of previously demonstrated effectiveness (mean treatment duration, 40.6 months; mean weight lost, 14.1 kg) rated how helpful and effective they found the various therapeutic strategies used by this program. The strategies examined were continuing care, group support, behavior therapy, motivational enhancement strategies involving positive reinforcement, and motivational enhancement strategies involving punishment. Results : The single most highly valued aspect of treatment was the provision of continuing care, followed by group support. Greater success at achieving one's goal weight was associated with perceptions of greater effectiveness of the program's strategies overall (r = 0.219, p < 0.005), of continuing care (r = 0.225, p < 0.005), and of positive reinforcement strategies (r = 0.223, p < 0.01). Participants who had successfully attained their goal weight perceived behavior therapy strategies as more effective than did participants who had not reached their goal weight [t (170) = 2.93, p < 0.005]. Discussion : The high ratings given to continuing care and group support strategies indicate the acceptability of supportive self‐help treatment for obesity administered over the long term. The findings suggest that continuing care and group support should be made available to participants in the self‐help treatment of obesity.