Perceptions of Race and Ancestry in Teaching, Research, and Public Engagement in Biological Anthropology

The concept of race has a complex history in the field of biological anthropology. Despite increased recognition of the racist origins of the discipline, there remains little agreement about what the concept means, how it is used, or how it is discussed. The present study presents the results of a survey of biological anthropologists to investigate the relationship of biological anthropology/ists with race and ancestry. The survey focuses on the areas of research, public engagement, and teaching as related to these concepts. Results indicate that a large majority of biological anthropologists argue for the separation of race (as a social not biological concept) from ancestry. The majority of respondents argued that ancestry categories should be based on geography (e.g., Asian, European, and African), and more anthropologists thought the terms “Hispanic/Latino” were inappropriate ancestry categories. While the majority of respondents felt that discussions of these terms were not matters of “political correctness,” nearly a quarter of respondents suggested that concerns over the moral and ethical implications of research (e.g., photos, terminology, ancestry, etc.) result in the silencing of anthropological research. Overwhelmingly, respondents felt that anthropologists have a responsibility to ensure the avoidance of misappropriation of their work in race science and by white nationalists/supremacists. Some differences in survey responses were found among respondents in relation to sub-discipline, educational level, location of respondents, age, self-identified racial/ethnic categories, and gender. In regard to teaching, survey results indicate that these concepts are minimally covered in university classrooms. When taught, topics focused on the colonialist/racist history of anthropology, the presence of white privilege/supremacy, and racism. Based on the results of this survey, we argue for greater public engagement on these concepts, a standardized system of teaching race and ancestry, and a disciplinary conversation about practice and terminology. In this way, biological anthropologists can best place themselves to combat racism in a socially responsible way

Bioarchaeology of Neolithic Çatalhöyük Reveals Fundamental Transitions in Health, Mobility, and Lifestyle in Early Farmers

The transition from a human diet based exclusively on wild plants and animals to one involving dependence on domesticated plants and animals beginning 10,000 to 11,000 y ago in Southwest Asia set into motion a series of profound health, lifestyle, social, and economic changes affecting human populations throughout most of the world. However, the social, cultural, behavioral, and other factors surrounding health and lifestyle associated with the foraging-to-farming transition are vague, owing to an incomplete or poorly understood contextual archaeological record of living conditions. Bioarchaeological investigation of the extraordinary record of human remains and their context from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (7100–5950 cal BCE), a massive archaeological site in south-central Anatolia (Turkey), provides important perspectives on population dynamics, health outcomes, behavioral adaptations, interpersonal conflict, and a record of community resilience over the life of this single early farming settlement having the attributes of a protocity. Study of Çatalhöyük human biology reveals increasing costs to members of the settlement, including elevated exposure to disease and labor demands in response to community dependence on and production of domesticated plant carbohydrates, growing population size and density fueled by elevated fertility, and increasing stresses due to heightened workload and greater mobility required for caprine herding and other resource acquisition activities over the nearly 12 centuries of settlement occupation. These changes in life conditions foreshadow developments that would take place worldwide over the millennia following the abandonment of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, including health challenges, adaptive patterns, physical activity, and emerging social behaviors involving interpersonal violence

Purification and properties of a functional 47-kilodalton cytosolic factor required for NADPH-oxidase activation in bovine neutrophils.

International audienceA cytosolic factor of 47 kDa required for activation of the NADPH oxidase, and referred to as p47, has been purified in its functional form from the cytosol of resting bovine neutrophils. The purification was monitored by the determination of the activating potency of p47 in a cell-free system of oxidase activation. The recovery was around 10% and the purification factor greater than 1000. P47 was phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase A and protein kinase C. [32P] labeled p47 was resolved by isoelectric focusing into two major labeled bands of pI 7.0 and 8.5. Polyclonal antibodies were used to demonstrate that p47 is localized specifically in the cytosol of resting neutrophils, and that, upon activation of neutrophils, p47 is translocated from the cytosol to the membrane

A generally applicable ELISA for the detection and quantitation of the cytosolic factors of NADPH-oxidase activation in neutrophils.

International audienceAn enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed using polyclonal antibodies raised against two cytosolic proteins of 47 kDa (p47) and 67 kDa (p67) which behave as activation factors for the superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase of neutrophils at the onset of phagocytosis. These two proteins become associated with the NADPH oxidase complex during activation. This immunological technique has been used to follow the purification steps of p47 and p67. It allows the detection of very small amounts of cytosolic factors in a crude neutrophil extract. It is straightforward and much more sensitive (about 1000 times more) than the classical assay based on the use of a cell-free system of oxidase activation and production of superoxide anion. The percentages of p47 and p67 assessed by ELISA with respect to total cytosolic protein were estimated to amount to 0.13 and 0.20%, respectively. The described method has potential applications for the titration of the cytosolic factors of oxidase activation in autosomal recessive forms of chronic granulomatous disease

EFECTO DE LA VITAMINA E EN EL PROCESO DE HEMOSTASIA DE INDIVIDUOS SANOS

La vitamina E (VE) es una vitamina liposoluble que actúa como antioxidante y ha sido asociada a tiempos prolongados de sangramiento en individuos sanos. El objetivo del siguiente trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de la VE en el proceso de coagulación de personas sanas. Fueron incluidos en el estudio 211 individuos sanos sin historia de enfermedades que comprometieran la hemostasia y separados en dos grupos dependiendo de la ingesta o no de VE. Los datos epidemiológicos de cada paciente así como el tiempo de protrombina (PT) y el tiempo parcial de tromboplastina (PTT) fueron recolectados. Todos los datos fueron analizados mediante el programa estadístico SPSS versión 13.0 y las medias comparadas usando la prueba estadística t de student. 114 individuos consumian al menos 400mgrs diarios de VE por un lapso no menor de 3 meses (75 mujeres y 39 hombres, edad promedio de 53.82+1.7 años) y 97 individuos que no consumian VE (55 mujeres y 42 hombres, edad media de 54.29+1.9 años) fueron incluidos como grupo control. El grupo que consumía VE mostró valores de PT estadísticamente mayores que los controles (p=0.001) (14.3+0.23seg y 13.2+0.23seg respectivamente). Así mismo, los valores de PTT del grupo VE estuvieron estadísticamente por encima de los pacientes control (p<0.0001) (31.19+0.33seg y 28.69+0.18seg respectivamente). El presente estudio sugiere que el consumo contínuo de VE podría alterar los valores de PT y PTT en individuos sanos y por tal razón modificar el proceso de coagulación normal.AbstractVitamin E (VE) is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as an antioxidant and it has been associated to prolonged bleeding in healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of VE in haemostasis. 211 healthy individuals were included and separated into groups depending on the VE ingest. Epidemiological data, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT) were collected. Data was analysed using SPSS 13.0 and means compared by t student test. 114 individuals consuming VE regularly (75 women and 39 men, mean age 53.82+1.7 years) and 97 controls (55 women and 42 men, mean age 54.29+1.9 years) were evaluated. VE group showed PT values significantly higher (p=0.001) than controls (14.3+0.23sec and 13.2+0.23sec respectively), as well as statically augmented PTT times (p<0.0001) (31.19+0.33sec 28.69+0.18sec respectively). VE may alter PT and PTT values in healthy people and therefore modifies haemostasi