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Objectives: Current human infant urine collection methods for the field are problematic for the researcher and potentially uncomfortable for the infant. In this study, we compared two minimally invasive methods for collecting infant urine: organic cotton balls and filter paper. Materials and methods: We first collected urine from infants using the clean catch method. We then used those samples to compare the performance of filter paper and cotton ball collection protocols. We analyzed the clean catch and cotton samples using commercial estrone‐3‐glucuronide (E1G) kits and tried two different extraction methods for the filter paper. Using a paired t‐test (n = 10), we compared clean catch and cotton samples. We also compared effect sizes within and between methods. Results: We were unable to extract enough urine from the filter paper to successfully assay the samples for E1G. The paired t‐test revealed a statistically significant difference between the clean catch and cotton methods (t = 2.63, p‐value = 0.03). However, the effect size was small (5.91 μg/ml, n = 10, 95% CI = 3.80, 8.02) and similar to or larger than the difference seen between duplicate wells for clean catch and cotton values. Discussion While this study is limited by sample size, our results indicate that filter paper is not a field‐friendly method for collecting infant urine. However, we found that organic cotton balls showed similar values to the clean catch method, and we propose this method as an alternative, minimally invasive method for study of E1G in human infant urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The overarching hypothesis of the present paper is that ethnically and/or genetically diverse human populations may exhibit similarity in correlations between various aspects of human phenotypes due to the morphological integration process during the ontogenetic stages. To test this we investigated whether an association between craniofacial (CF) features and body composition (BC) variations is present in humans and the extent to which such possible associations are comparable in different populations. Furthermore, the paper examines the contribution of common genetic (additive) and shared familial environmental factors in assessing the correlation between CF and BC characteristics in humans. Materials and Methods: Two pedigree‐based samples were collected from two distinct populations, including India (Santhal) and Europe (Chuvash). Canonical correlation analysis was used to compare the association between CF and BC characteristics in the two studied samples. The contribution of genetic and familial environmental factors on the correlation between CF and BC features was analyzed through variance decomposition analysis by implementing the Mendelian Analysis package (MAN). Results: Our study suggests that CF morphology is significantly (p < 0.001) associated with BC variation in both samples. CF characteristics and BC phenotypes revealed a consistent trend in both samples where condensed and broad CF morphology was significantly associated with increased fat accumulation, with slight variations between the Santhal and Chuvash samples. Despite the variations observed between the samples, the heritability estimates were impressively equivalent for traits like total facial height (55.6%Santhalvs.56.1%Chuvash) and nasal index (42.8%Santhalvs. 43.3%Chuvash). Discussion: The genetic contribution of CF morphology appeared to be extensive and the contribution of common genetic and shared family environmental correlations between CF and BC measures were suggestively substantial. Accordingly, these correlations were consistently observed across ethnically diverse populations, despite drastic morphological differences between the samples under comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper present the content of the Musée de l'Homme exhibition "Us and them: from prejudice to racism" and provides a detailed explanation of how this content has been presented to the public. In a second section of this paper we explain some of the analysis and concepts, from a biological anthropology perspective, that were the foundation of the exhibition and provides some information about the current situation in France. Special Issue: Race reconciled II: Interpreting and communicating biological variation and race in 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is one of the most important settlement shifts in human history and has been the focus of research within bioarchaeology for decades. However, there have been limited attempts to synthesize the results of these studies in order to gain a broader perspective on whether or how urbanization affects the biology, demography, and behavior of humans, and how these potential effects are embodied in the human skeleton. This paper outlines how bioarchaeology is well‐suited to examine urbanization in the past, and we provide an overview and examples of three main ways in which urbanization is studied in bioarchaeological research: comparison of (often contemporaneous) urban and rural sites, synchronic studies of the variation that exists within and between urban sites, and investigations of changes that occur within urban sites over time. Studies of urbanization, both within bioarchaeology and in other fields of study, face a number of limitations, including a lack of a consensus regarding what urban and urbanization mean, the assumed dichotomous nature of urban versus rural settlements, the supposition that urbanization is universally bad for people, and the assumption (at least in practice) of homogeneity within urban and rural populations. Bioarchaeologists can address these limitations by utilizing a wide array of data and methods, and the studies described here collectively demonstrate the complex, nuanced, and highly variable effects of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In this paper, we introduce the use of generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) as a better alternative to traditional statistical methods for studying factors associated to the prevalence of degenerative joint disease (DJD) in bioarchaeological contexts. Materials and Methods: DJD prevalence was assessed for the appendicular joints and the spine of a Spanish population dated from the 15th to the 18th century. Data were analyzed using contingency tables, logistic regression models, and logistic GLMM. Results: In general, results from GLMMs find agreement in other methods. However, by being able to analyze the data at the level of individual bones instead of aggregated joints or limbs, GLMMs are capable of revealing associations that are not evident in other frameworks. Discussion Currently widely available in statistical analysis software, GLMMs can accommodate a wide array of data distributions, account for hierarchical correlations, and return estimates of DJD prevalence within individuals and skeletal locations that are unbiased by the effect of covariates. This gives clear advantages for the analysis of bioarchaeological datasets which can lead to more robust and comparable analyses across populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human biological variation has historically been studied through the lens of racialization. Despite a general shift away from the use of overt racial terminologies, the underlying racialized frameworks used to describe and understand human variation still remain. Even in relatively recent anthropological and biomedical work, we can observe clear manifestations of such racial thinking. This paper shows how classification and valuation are two specific processes which facilitate racialization and hinder attempts to move beyond such frameworks. The bias induced by classification distorts descriptions of phenotypic variation in a way that erroneously portrays European populations as more variable than others. Implicit valuation occurs in tandem with classification and produces narratives of superiority/inferiority for certain phenotypic variants without an objective biological basis. The bias of racialization is a persistent impediment stemming from the inheritance of scientific knowledge developed under explicitly racial paradigms. It is also an internalized cognitive distortion cultivated through socialization in a world where racialization is inescapable. Though undeniably challenging, this does not present an insurmountable barrier, and this bias can be mitigated through the critical evaluation of past work, the active inclusion of marginalized perspectives, and the direct confrontation of institutional structures enforcing racialized paradigms. Special Issue: Race reconciled II: Interpreting and communicating biological variation and race in 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Our aim in this study was to understand how genetics ideas are appropriated and mobilized online toward the political projects of White nationalism and the alt right. Studying three different online venues, we investigated how genetics is used to support racial realism, hereditarianism, and racial hierarchy. We analyzed how these ideas are connected to political and metapolitical projects. In addition, we examined the strategies used to build authority for these interpretations. Methods: We analyze three online venues in which genetics has been mobilized to advance racial realism and hereditarian explanations of racial differences. These were (a) the use of genetic ancestry tests in online nationalist discussions, (b) blogs and other venues in which the human biodiversity ideas are articulated, (c) activities surrounding the OpenPsych collection of online journals. Ethnographic and interpretive methods were applied to investigate scientific and political meanings of efforts to mobilize genetic ideas. Results: We found that White nationalists use genetic ancestry tests to align White identity with ideas of racial purity and diversity, educating each other about genetics, and debating the boundaries of Whiteness. "Human biodiversity" has been mobilized as a movement to catalog and create hereditarian ideas about racial differences and to distribute them as "red pills" to transform online discourse. The OpenPsych journals have allowed amateur hereditarian psychologists to publish papers, coordinate activity, and legitimate their project at the academic margins. Conclusions: These various appropriations of genetics aim to further racial realism and hereditarian explanations of racial social and behavioral differences. Beyond these substantive aims, on a "metapolitical" level, they serve to reframe concepts and standards for political and scientific discussion of race, challenge structures of academic legitimacy and expertise, and build a cadre of ideological foot soldiers armed with an argumentative toolkit. As professional anthropologists and geneticists aim to accurately communicate their science and its implications for understanding human differences to the public, they must contend with these substantive claims and metapolitical contexts. Special Issue: Race reconciled II: Interpreting and communicating biological variation and race in 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research to understand human genomic variation and its implications in health has great potential to contribute in the reduction of health disparities. Biological anthropology can play important roles in genomics and health disparities research using a biocultural approach. This paper argues that racial/ethnic categories should not be used as a surrogate for sociocultural factors or global genomic clusters in biomedical research or clinical settings, because of the high genetic heterogeneity that exists within traditional racial/ethnic groups. Genetic ancestry is used to show variation in ancestral genomic contributions to recently admixed populations in the United States, such as African Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans. Genetic ancestry estimates are also used to examine the relationship between ancestry‐related biological and sociocultural factors affecting health disparities. To localize areas of genomes that contribute to health disparities, admixture mapping and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) are often used. Recent GWAS have identified many genetic variants that are highly differentiated among human populations that are associated with disease risk. Some of these are population‐specific variants. Many of these variants may impact disease risk and help explain a portion of the difference in disease burden among racial/ethnic groups. Genetic ancestry is also of particular interest in precision medicine and disparities in drug efficacy and outcomes. By using genetic ancestry, we can learn about potential biological differences that may contribute to the heterogeneity observed across self‐reported racial groups. Special Issue: Race reconciled II: Interpreting and communicating biological variation and race in 2021 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores recent research trends in human osteology, based on articles published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology (AJPA) during two 5-year intervals: 1980-1984 and 1996-2000. Topical "visibility" is measured in terms of article counts; "impact" is estimated through citation indices. Our results indicate that human osteologists continue to publish a range of methodological, analytical, and descriptive research papers that address a broad array of subjects. Analytical articles are cited more frequently than descriptive articles and thus have higher impact, reflecting the discipline's continued commitment to problem-oriented research. Differences in publication patterns exist between scholars during early and later stages of their careers. Articles published by students and Ph.D.s within 2 years of their doctoral degree are more frequently descriptive than analytical, when compared to people with longer career histories. Topics such as pathology, forensic anthropology, and biodistance modeling remain highly visible, while articles on the dentition have waned. An increase in functional research directed toward the postcranial skeleton is also reflected in our data. While continued visibility for morphological investigations is apparent, the impact of recently developed applications in bone chemistry and molecular anthropology is amply documented in our data, particularly during the more recent survey years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Human growth and final height are influenced by many factors such as genetics, nutrition, living conditions, socioeconomic background and, as recently proposed, by social peer groups and the community. In this paper, we aim to evaluate the extent to which spatial proximity, acting as a proxy for the social community, causes height clustering in low and middle income countries. Material and methods: We analyzed data from the study “Young Lives—Measuring Child Poverty and Health”, a study performed in four low and middle income countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) to describe the health situation of children. We used linear mixed effects models with different random effect structures to analyze the influence of the community on clustering of height in boys and girls. Results: In all analyzed low and middle income countries, linear mixed effects with hierarchical structures with communities nested within regions provide a better fit than the basic models neglecting community‐based clustering (p < .001). Discussion: Although the underlying mechanisms require future research, spatial proximity arising from clustering needs to be integrated into explorative modelling of height variability in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on a conference of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists to be held on April 8-14, 2002 in Buffalo, New York featuring several sessions on topics including dental anthropology, primate cognitive ecology and hominid evolution.

The article presents abstracts on physical anthropology topics which include comparison between the bone density and loading in the knee joint of modern humans and gorillas, indoor air pollution in rural areas of developing countries, and Y chromosome haplotypes and Native American origins.

The article presents abstract on anthropology topics including spondylolysis in prehistoric human remains, dentine thickness in XXXX females' permanent teeth, and Bergmann's Rule and the Thrifty Genotype, to be presented at the American Association of Physical Anthropologists' 64th annual meeting.

The article presents abstracts on topics related to physical anthropology which include cranial variables as a predictor for hominid body mass, genetic epidemiology of lipoprotein lipid levels, and impact of coca chewing on muscular efficiency and metabolism.

The article presents abstracts on topics related to physical anthropology which include critical aspects of standard measurement protocols used in cranial morphometrics, behavioral changes during the menstrual cycle in two congeneric cercopithecids, and cardiovascular risk factors in Samoans.

The article presents abstracts on medical topics to be presented at the Sixty-First annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 1-4, 1992 including consanguinity and fertility, arthritis of the vertebral column and colon cancer.