Demographic structure of a transplanted Tlaxcalan population in the Valley of Mexico

This is the published version, also available here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41462806.This research explores the evolutionary consequences of the transplantation and subsequent demographic adaptation of Cuanalan, a migrant population in the Valley of Mexico. Through comparisons with historical and contemporary populations from the area of origination—the state of Tlaxcala—an attempt is made to reconstruct the demographic and evolutionary changes which have occurred in the splinter population over the past four centuries. Both demographic and preliminary genetic data indicate that Cuanalan is a hybridized population. About two-thirds of marriages of Cuanalan-born individuals are endogamous. Average number of liveborn children for prolific women over 40 is 6.5. Since 1866, mean age at death in the community is 20.8 years, and the infant death rate is 30%. Major causes of death are respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and childhood infections. The high variance in completed fertility and high pre-reproductive mortality indicate a continuation of conditions making for the rapid action of natural selection which have historically characterized Tlaxcalan populations. Genetic drift was probably an important factor in the early differentiation of the migrant population. The data suggest that the evolutionary divergence of Cuanalan from the Tlaxcalan gene pool has been rapid and extensive

Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine, a Re-emerging Health Aid

Complementary medicine is a formal method of health care in most countries of the ancient world. It is expected to become more widely integrated into the modern medical system, including the medical curriculum. Despite the perception of modern medicine as more efficacious, traditional medicine continues to be practiced. More than 70% of the developing world's population still depends primarily on the complementary and alternative systems of medicine (CAM). In rural areas, cultural beliefs and practices often lead to self-care, home remedies or consultation with traditional healers. Herbal medicine can be broadly classified into four basic systems as follows: Traditional Chinese Herbalism, Ayurvedic Herbalism, Western Herbalism—which originally came from Greece and Rome to Europe and then spread to North and South America and Traditional Arabic and Islamic Medicine (TAIM). There is no doubt that today the concept of Arabic traditional herbal medicine is a part of modern life in the Middle East, and it is acquiring worldwide respect, with growing interest among traditional herbalists and the scientific community. TAIM therapies have shown remarkable success in healing acute as well as chronic diseases and have been utilized by people in most countries of the Mediterranean who have faith in spiritual healers. TAIM is the first choice for many in dealing with ailments such as infertility, epilepsy, psychosomatic troubles and depression. In parallel, issues of efficacy and safety of complementary medicine have become increasingly important and supervision of the techniques and procedures used is required for commercial as well as traditional uses. More research is therefore needed to understand this type of medicine and ensure its safe usage. The present review will discuss the status of traditional Arab medicine (particularly herbal medicine), including the efficacy and toxicity of specific medicinal preparations, with an emphasis on the modern in vitro and in vivo techniques

A method of analyzing density-dependent vital rates with an application to the Gainj of Papua New Guinea

A method of estimating age-specific coefficients of density-dependent variation in fertility and mortality is developed; the method is applicable to longitudinal data on population size and the number of births and deaths classified by age. Given a sufficiently large data set, it is possible to estimate both the sensitivity of each age class to density-dependent damping and the density effect of each age class on every age class in the population. Application of the method to government census data on the Gainj, a small tribal population from highland Papua New Guinea, shows that fertility is density-independent, but that mortality is at least partially density-dependent. This finding suggests that the size of the population is regulated by mortality rather than fertility. Individuals aged less than five years and greater than 50 years are particularly sensitive to density-dependent survival damping; individuals of adolescent and early reproductive age are not themselves damped, but appear to be responsible for the observed damping.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37617/1/1330580408_ftp.pd

In vivo antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds: facts and gaps

Background: Numerous diseases have been related with free radicals overproduction and oxidative stress. Botanical preparations possess a multitude of bioactive properties, including antioxidant potential, which has been mainly related with the presence of phenolic compounds. However, the mechanisms of action of these phytochemicals, in vivo effects, bioavailability and bio-efficacy still need research. Scope and Approach: The present report aims to provide a critical review on the aspects related with the in vivo antioxidant activity of phenolic extracts and compounds from plant origin. Key findings: Biological functions beyond the human metabolism were discussed, comparing in vivo vs. in vitro studies, as also focusing the conditioning factors for phenolic compounds bioavailability and bio-efficacy. Furthermore, an upcoming perspective about the use of phytochemicals as life expectancy promoters and anti-aging factors in human individuals was provided. Conclusions: Overall, and despite all of those advances, the study of the biological potential of numerous natural matrices still remains a hot topic among the scientific community. In fact, the available knowledge about the responsible phytochemicals for the biological potential, their mechanisms of action, the establishment of therapeutic and prophylactic doses, and even the occurrence of biochemical inter-relations, is considerable scarce.The authors are grateful to Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for N. Martins grant (SFRH/BD/87658/2012), L. Barros researcher contract under "Programa Compromisso com Ciencia - 2008" and financial support to the research centre CIMO (strategic project Pest-OE/AGR/UI0690/2014)

Genetic Ancestry, Social Classification, and Racial Inequalities in Blood Pressure in Southeastern Puerto Rico

The role of race in human genetics and biomedical research is among the most contested issues in science. Much debate centers on the relative importance of genetic versus sociocultural factors in explaining racial inequalities in health. However, few studies integrate genetic and sociocultural data to test competing explanations directly.We draw on ethnographic, epidemiologic, and genetic data collected in Southeastern Puerto Rico to isolate two distinct variables for which race is often used as a proxy: genetic ancestry versus social classification. We show that color, an aspect of social classification based on the culturally defined meaning of race in Puerto Rico, better predicts blood pressure than does a genetic-based estimate of continental ancestry. We also find that incorporating sociocultural variables reveals a new and significant association between a candidate gene polymorphism for hypertension (alpha(2C) adrenergic receptor deletion) and blood pressure.This study addresses the recognized need to measure both genetic and sociocultural factors in research on racial inequalities in health. Our preliminary results provide the most direct evidence to date that previously reported associations between genetic ancestry and health may be attributable to sociocultural factors related to race and racism, rather than to functional genetic differences between racially defined groups. Our results also imply that including sociocultural variables in future research may improve our ability to detect significant allele-phenotype associations. Thus, measuring sociocultural factors related to race may both empower future genetic association studies and help to clarify the biological consequences of social inequalities