scholarly journals Implications of the behavioural immune system for social behaviour and human health in the modern world

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1669) ◽  
pp. 20140105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Schaller ◽  
Damian R. Murray ◽  
Adrian Bangerter
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Infection Risk ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
Majority Opinion ◽  
Individual Level

The ‘behavioural immune system’ is composed of mechanisms that evolved as a means of facilitating behaviours that minimized infection risk and enhanced fitness. Recent empirical research on human populations suggests that these mechanisms have unique consequences for many aspects of human sociality—including sexual attitudes, gregariousness, xenophobia, conformity to majority opinion and conservative sociopolitical attitudes. Throughout much of human evolutionary history, these consequences may have had beneficial health implications; but health implications in modern human societies remain unclear. This article summarizes pertinent ways in which modern human societies are similar to and different from the ecologies within which the behavioural immune system evolved. By attending to these similarities and differences, we identify a set of plausible implications—both positive and negative—that the behavioural immune system may have on health outcomes in contemporary human contexts. We discuss both individual-level infection risk and population-level epidemiological outcomes. We also discuss a variety of additional implications, including compliance with public health policies, the adoption of novel therapeutic interventions and actual immunological functioning. Research on the behavioural immune system, and its implications in contemporary human societies, can provide unique insights into relationships between fitness, sociality and health.

scholarly journals Greater wealth inequality, less polygyny: rethinking the polygyny threshold model

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (144) ◽  
pp. 20180035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody T. Ross ◽  
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder ◽  
Seung-Yun Oh ◽  
Samuel Bowles ◽  
Bret Beheim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Choice Model ◽  
Threshold Model ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Polygynous Marriage ◽  
Human Mating

Monogamy appears to have become the predominant human mating system with the emergence of highly unequal agricultural populations that replaced relatively egalitarian horticultural populations, challenging the conventional idea—based on the polygyny threshold model—that polygyny should be positively associated with wealth inequality. To address this polygyny paradox, we generalize the standard polygyny threshold model to a mutual mate choice model predicting the fraction of women married polygynously. We then demonstrate two conditions that are jointly sufficient to make monogamy the predominant marriage form, even in highly unequal societies. We assess if these conditions are satisfied using individual-level data from 29 human populations. Our analysis shows that with the shift to stratified agricultural economies: (i) the population frequency of relatively poor individuals increased, increasing wealth inequality, but decreasing the frequency of individuals with sufficient wealth to secure polygynous marriage, and (ii) diminishing marginal fitness returns to additional wives prevent extremely wealthy men from obtaining as many wives as their relative wealth would otherwise predict. These conditions jointly lead to a high population-level frequency of monogamy.

scholarly journals On the Apportionment of Archaic Human Diversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando A Villanea ◽  
Kelsey E Witt ◽  
Elle Loughran ◽  
Emilia A Huerta-Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
South Asians ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
East Asians ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Archaic Admixture ◽  
Human Relatedness ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

The apportionment of human genetic diversity within and between populations has been measured to understand human relatedness and demographic history. Likewise, the distribution of archaic ancestry in modern populations can be leveraged to better understand the interaction between our species and its archaic relatives, and the impact of natural selection on archaic segments of the human genome. Resolving these interactions can be difficult, as archaic variants in modern populations have also been shaped by genetic drift, bottlenecks, and gene flow. Here, we investigate the apportionment of archaic variation in Eurasian populations. We find that archaic genome coverage at the individual- and population-level present unique patterns in modern human population: South Asians have an elevated count of population-unique archaic SNPs, and Europeans and East Asians have a higher degree of archaic SNP sharing, indicating that population demography and archaic admixture events had distinct effects in these populations. We confirm previous observations that East Asians have more Neanderthal ancestry than Europeans at an individual level, but surprisingly Europeans have more Neandertal ancestry at a population level. In comparing these results to our simulated models, we conclude that these patterns likely reflect a complex series of interactions between modern humans and archaic populations.

scholarly journals Population frequencies of vkorc1 c1173t polymorphism, which determining the organism sensitivity to warfarin, in forest nenets and nganasans of northern siberia

2020 ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Р.П. Тийс ◽  
Л.П. Осипова ◽  
Е.Н. Воронина ◽  
М.Л. Филипенко
Keyword(s):  
Population Level ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Similar Distribution ◽  
Taimyr Peninsula ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Vkorc1 Gene ◽  
Similar Distribution Pattern

Полиморфизм C1173T гена VKORC1 является одним из ключевых факторов, определяющих как этнические, так и индивидуальные различия в чувствительности к антикоагулянту варфарину и его поддерживающей дозе у пациентов при лечении тромбозозависимых заболеваний. В связи с этим, на популяционном уровне проведено исследование полиморфизма VKORC1 C1173T среди коренных представителей лесных ненцев Ямало-Ненецкого автономного округа и нганасан полуострова Таймыр Красноярского края. Генотипирование однонуклеотидных замен в гене VKORC1 проводилось в режиме реального времени с использованием конкурирующих TaqMan-зондов. Выявлено, что вариант VKORC1 1173T встречается с высокой частотой в изученных популяциях: 67% у лесных ненцев и 94% у нганасан. Этот показатель существенно и статистически значимо выше, чем у европейцев, и имеет схожий характер распространения с таковым у азиатов Китая и Японии. Результаты нашего исследования расширяют знания о полиморфизме гена VKORC1 в человеческих популяциях, а также способствуют развитию персонализированной медицины по отношению к коренным жителям Сибири, так как генетический статус человека, имеющего вариант 1173T, может учитываться в целях достижения максимально безопасной и эффективной терапии варфарином при тромбозозависимых заболеваниях. Polymorphism C1173T of the VKORC1 gene is one of the key factors determining both ethnic and individual differences in the sensitivity to the anticoagulant warfarin and its maintenance dose in patients in the treatment of thrombosis-dependent diseases. In this regard, at the population level the VKORC1 C1173T polymorphism was studied in indigenous populations of the Forest Nenets (the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and Nganasans (the Taimyr Peninsula of the Krasnoyarsk region). Genotyping of C1173T single nucleotide substitution in the VKORC1 gene was carried out in real time using competing TaqMan probes. It was revealed that the variant VKORC1 1173T occurs with a high frequency in the studied populations: 67% in Forest Nenets and 94% in Nganasans. This indicator is significantly higher than that of Europeans, and has a similar distribution pattern with that of Asians. The results of our study expand knowledge about VKORC1 gene polymorphism in human populations, and also promote the development of personalized medicine in relation to indigenous people of Siberia, since the genetic status of a person with variant 1173T can be taken into account at an individual level in order to achieve the most safe and effective warfarin therapy of thrombosis-dependent diseases.

scholarly journals A new perspective for mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection: priming the innate immune system for viral attack

Open Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 200138
Author(s):  
Oren Kolodny ◽  
Michael Berger ◽  
Marcus W. Feldman ◽  
Yoav Ram
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Innate Immune System ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Infectious Period ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

The course of infection by SARS-CoV-2 frequently includes a long asymptomatic period, followed in some individuals by an immune dysregulation period that may lead to complications and immunopathology-induced death. This course of disease suggests that the virus often evades detection by the innate immune system. We suggest a novel therapeutic approach to mitigate the infection's severity, probability of complications and duration. We propose that priming an individual's innate immune system for viral attack shortly before it is expected to occur may allow pre-activation of the preferable trajectory of immune response, leading to early detection of the virus. Priming can be carried out, for example, by administering a standard vaccine or another reagent that elicits a broad anti-viral innate immune response. By the time that the expected SARS-CoV-2 infection occurs, activation cascades will have been put in motion and levels of immune factors needed to combat the infection will have been elevated. The infection would thus be cleared faster and with less complication than otherwise, alleviating adverse clinical outcomes at the individual level. Moreover, priming may also mitigate population-level risk by reducing need for hospitalizations and decreasing the infectious period of individuals, thus slowing the spread and reducing the impact of the epidemic. In view of the latter consideration, our proposal may have a significant epidemiological impact even if applied primarily to low-risk individuals, such as young adults, who often show mild symptoms or none, by shortening the period during which they unknowingly infect others. The proposed view is, at this time, an unproven hypothesis. Although supported by robust bio-medical reasoning and multiple lines of evidence, carefully designed clinical trials are necessary.

scholarly journals Securing Operational Capability for Exceptional Circumstances: How Do Professional First Responders Respond to the Unexpected?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6418
Author(s):  
Ossi Heino ◽  
Joanna Kalalahti
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Rescue Operation ◽  
Operational Capability ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
First Case ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Ambiguous Situations

Complexity and uncertainty are framing the modern world, whilst also affecting issues on security and sustainability. There is a need to prepare for known threats and identified risks, but also to improve the ability to cope in situations that are difficult to recognize or describe beforehand. What is at stake—both at the organizational and individual level—is the ability to make sense of uncertain and ambiguous situations. Analyzing two empirical cases, this study aims to shed light on the abilities of experts, who have acted in very challenging situations, in which deviating from established procedures and abandoning politeness have been necessary to respond effectively. The first case deals with a threat of serious violence faced by a police officer. The second case focuses on the actions of an executive fire officer during a rescue operation after an explosion at a shopping mall. This paper concludes by arguing that pre-established procedures require experts to reflect on their usability in exceptional situations as relying on them could also have detrimental effects.

scholarly journals Are We Paving the Way to Dig Out of the “Pandemic Hole”? A Narrative Review on SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: From Animal Models to Human Immunization

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Tardiolo ◽  
Pina Brianti ◽  
Daniela Sapienza ◽  
Pia dell’Utri ◽  
Viviane Di Dio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Viral Vector ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Inactivated Vaccines ◽  
Preclinical And Clinical Studies ◽  
Social Upheaval

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new pathogen agent causing the coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19). This novel virus originated the most challenging pandemic in this century, causing economic and social upheaval internationally. The extreme infectiousness and high mortality rates incentivized the development of vaccines to control this pandemic to prevent further morbidity and mortality. This international scenario led academic scientists, industries, and governments to work and collaborate strongly to make a portfolio of vaccines available at an unprecedented pace. Indeed, the robust collaboration between public systems and private companies led to resolutive actions for accelerating therapeutic interventions and vaccines mechanism. These strategies contributed to rapidly identifying safe and effective vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible. Preclinical research employed animal models to develop vaccines that induce protective and long-lived immune responses. A spectrum of vaccines is worldwide under investigation in various preclinical and clinical studies to develop both individual protection and safe development of population-level herd immunity. Companies employed and developed different technological approaches for vaccines production, including inactivated vaccines, live-attenuated, non-replicating viral vector vaccines, as well as acid nucleic-based vaccines. In this view, the present narrative review provides an overview of current vaccination strategies, taking into account both preclinical studies and clinical trials in humans. Furthermore, to better understand immunization, animal models on SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis are also briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Neonatal Immune System Ontogeny: The Role of Maternal Microbiota and Associated Factors. How Might the Non-Human Primate Model Enlighten the Path?

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 584
Author(s):  
Natalia Nunez ◽  
Louis Réot ◽  
Elisabeth Menu
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Primate Model ◽  
Neonatal Immune System ◽  
Gastrointestinal Colonization ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Human Primate

Interactions between the immune system and the microbiome play a crucial role on the human health. These interactions start in the prenatal period and are critical for the maturation of the immune system in newborns and infants. Several factors influence the composition of the infant’s microbiota and subsequently the development of the immune system. They include maternal infection, antibiotic treatment, environmental exposure, mode of delivery, breastfeeding, and food introduction. In this review, we focus on the ontogeny of the immune system and its association to microbial colonization from conception to food diversification. In this context, we give an overview of the mother–fetus interactions during pregnancy, the impact of the time of birth and the mode of delivery, the neonate gastrointestinal colonization and the role of breastfeeding, weaning, and food diversification. We further review the impact of the vaccination on the infant’s microbiota and the reciprocal case. Finally, we discuss several potential therapeutic interventions that might help to improve the newborn and infant’s health and their responses to vaccination. Throughout the review, we underline the main scientific questions that are left to be answered and how the non-human primate model could help enlighten the path.

scholarly journals Review of Associations between Built Environment Characteristics and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Risk

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7561
Author(s):  
Jingjing Wang ◽  
Xueying Wu ◽  
Ruoyu Wang ◽  
Dongsheng He ◽  
Dongying Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Infection Risk ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Transit Accessibility ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Transmission Pathways

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has stimulated intensive research interest in its transmission pathways and infection factors, e.g., socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, climatology, baseline health conditions or pre-existing diseases, and government policies. Meanwhile, some empirical studies suggested that built environment attributes may be associated with the transmission mechanism and infection risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, no review has been conducted to explore the effect of built environment characteristics on the infection risk. This research gap prevents government officials and urban planners from creating effective urban design guidelines to contain SARS-CoV-2 infections and face future pandemic challenges. This review summarizes evidence from 25 empirical studies and provides an overview of the effect of built environment on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. Virus infection risk was positively associated with the density of commercial facilities, roads, and schools and with public transit accessibility, whereas it was negatively associated with the availability of green spaces. This review recommends several directions for future studies, namely using longitudinal research design and individual-level data, considering multilevel factors and extending to diversified geographic areas.

scholarly journals Blood Pressure Trajectories Across the Life Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-241
Author(s):  
Norrina B Allen ◽  
Sadiya S Khan
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Level Group ◽  
Improve Health

Abstract High blood pressure (BP) is a strong modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Longitudinal BP patterns themselves may reflect the burden of risk and vascular damage due to prolonged cumulative exposure to high BP levels. Current studies have begun to characterize BP patterns as a trajectory over an individual’s lifetime. These BP trajectories take into account the absolute BP levels as well as the slope of BP changes throughout the lifetime thus incorporating longitudinal BP patterns into a single metric. Methodologic issues that need to be considered when examining BP trajectories include individual-level vs. population-level group-based modeling, use of distinct but complementary BP metrics (systolic, diastolic, mean arterial, mid, and pulse pressure), and potential for measurement errors related to varied settings, devices, and number of readings utilized. There appear to be very specific developmental periods during which divergent BP trajectories may emerge, specifically adolescence, the pregnancy period, and older adulthood. Lifetime BP trajectories are impacted by both individual-level and community-level factors and have been associated with incident hypertension, multimorbidity (CVD, renal disease, cognitive impairment), and overall life expectancy. Key unanswered questions remain around the additive predictive value of BP trajectories, intergenerational contributions to BP patterns (in utero BP exposure), and potential genetic drivers of BP patterns. The next phase in understanding BP trajectories needs to focus on how best to incorporate this knowledge into clinical care to reduce the burden of hypertensive-related outcomes and improve health equity.

scholarly journals Examining the Effects of the Sacramento Dockless E-Bike Share on Bicycling and Driving

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 368
Author(s):  
Dillon T. Fitch ◽  
Hossain Mohiuddin ◽  
Susan L. Handy
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Combine Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Bike Share

One way cities are looking to promote bicycling is by providing publicly or privately operated bike-share services, which enable individuals to rent bicycles for one-way trips. Although many studies have examined the use of bike-share services, little is known about how these services influence individual-level travel behavior more generally. In this study, we examine the behavior of users and non-users of a dockless, electric-assisted bike-share service in the Sacramento region of California. This service, operated by Jump until suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, was one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., and spanned three California cities: Sacramento, West Sacramento, and Davis. We combine data from a repeat cross-sectional before-and-after survey of residents and a longitudinal panel survey of bike-share users with the goal of examining how the service influenced individual-level bicycling and driving. Results from multilevel regression models suggest that the effect of bike-share on average bicycling and driving at the population level is likely small. However, our results indicate that people who have used-bike share are likely to have increased their bicycling because of bike-share.

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