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Women experience higher morbidity than men, despite living longer. This is often attributed to biological differences between the sexes; however, the majority of societies in which these disparities are observed exhibit gender norms that favor men. We tested the hypothesis that female-biased gender norms ameliorate gender disparities in health by comparing gender differences in inflammation and hypertension among the matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo of China. Widely reported gender disparities in health were reversed among matrilineal Mosuo compared with patrilineal Mosuo, due to substantial improvements in women’s health, with no concomitant detrimental effects on men. These findings offer evidence that gender norms limiting women’s autonomy and biasing inheritance toward men adversely affect the health of women, increasing women’s risk for chronic diseases with tremendous global health impact.

Increased access to defensible material wealth is hypothesized to escalate inequality. Market integration, which creates novel opportunities in cash economies provides a means of testing this hypothesis. Using demographic data collected from 505 households among the matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo in 2017, we test whether MI is associated with increased material wealth, whether increased material wealth is associated with wealth inequality, and whether being in a matrilineal versus patrilineal kinship system alters the relationship between wealth and inequality. We find evidence that market integration, measured as distance to the nearest source of tourism and primary source of household income, was associated with increased household income and “modern” asset value. Both village-level market integration and mean asset value were associated negatively, rather than positively, with inequality, contrary to predictions. Finally, income, modern wealth, and inequality were higher in matrilineal communities, which are located closer to the center of tourism and where tourism has long provided a relatively stable source of income. However, we also observed exacerbated inequality with increasing farm animal value in patriliny. We conclude that the forces affecting wealth and inequality depend on local context and that the importance of local institutions is obscured by aggregate statistics drawn from modern nation states.

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Background: Human populations native to high altitude exhibit numerous genetic adaptations to hypobaric hypoxia. Among Tibetan plateau peoples, these include increased vasodilation and uncoupling of erythropoiesis from hypoxia.Objective/Methods: We tested the hypothesis that these high-altitude adaptations reduce risk for hypertension and diabetes-associated anemia among the Mosuo, a Tibetan-descended population in the mountains of Southwest China that is experiencing rapid economic change and increased chronic disease risk.Results: Hypertension was substantially less common among Mosuo than lowaltitude Han populations, and models fit to the Han predicted higher probability of hypertension than models fit to the Mosuo. Diabetes was positively associated with anemia among the Han, but not the Mosuo. Conclusion:The Mosuo have lower risk for hypertension and diabetes-associated anemia than the Han, supporting the hypothesis that high-altitude adaptations affecting blood and circulation intersect with chronic disease processes to lower risk for these outcomes. As chronic diseases continue to grow as global health concerns, it is important to investigate how they may be affected by local genetic adaptations. K E Y W O R D Sanemia, diabetes, erythropoiesis, high-altitude adaptation, hypertension

High-fat diet (HFD) may induce changes of metabolism and gut microbiota changes, and these changes are susceptible to diet adjustments such as tea treatment. However, the treatment effects may vary among different types of tea. In this study, we evaluated the effects of six types of tea on glucose and lipid metabolism and gut microbiota in HFD mice. We established HFD mouse model by 12 weeks feed with 60% fat diet, then treated with teas for six weeks. Here, we showed that treatment with different types of tea can inhibit weight gain and insulin resistance though different ways. Green tea regulated lipid metabolism by regulating the expression of adenosine 5 ′ -monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-1). The effect of dark tea and white tea in reducing liver weight seemed to be related to activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). Yellow tea exhibited the best anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and effects of recovering the disorder of model mouse microbiota. The decrease in blood sugar and the upregulation of gluconeogenesis-related enzymes seemed to be related to the decrement of unclassified Lachnospiraceae. These different effects may result from the unique chemical compositions contained by different types of tea, which can regulate different lipid and glucose metabolism-related proteins. Despite variations in its compositions and metabolic reactions, tea is a potent antiobesity and hypoglycemic agent.

BackgroundHuman meridian (Jingluo) system was hypothesized by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. In this hypothesis, there believed to be twelve formal meridian channels going through respective organs, carrying fluid and energy, and laying thermal effects. Some treatments based on meridians have been proved effective. However, existence of meridians has never been confirmed. The infrared photograph was employed to display the picture to the meridians since 1970. Unfortunately, no satisfactory results have been obtained. We think that only when a certain meridian is activated will there be thermal effect for successful infrared photograph.Methods We selected thirteen types of tea out of the herbs to activate the hypothesized twelve meridians for imagery taking. We collected 42 volunteers to drink teas and take infrared imageries in thirteen days. After every tea was drunk, infrared imageries of the human bodies were taken immediately. The highest temperatures of the fingers, palms, and above the organs were derived from the imageries. The averages and standard deviations of the standardized data of volunteers were calculated. Significances of the temperature difference among the body areas after drinking different teas were evaluated. ResultsWe found that the temperatures of the organs and fingers possibly connected by twelve hypothesized meridians rose together significantly, i.e., the thumbs and lung after white teas, index fingers and colon after blue teas, middle fingers and thymus after dark black teas, ring fingers and gallbladder after red black teas, little fingers and heart after yellow teas. The temperature distribution on the human bodies exhibited twelve patterns following the meridian hypothesis. Infrared imageries showed quite clear shapes of the organs activated by the teas, e.g., heart and kidneys by yellow teas, thymus by dark black teas, lungs and spleen by white teas, gallbladder and thyroid by red black teas, etc. Some high temperature lines also matched the hypothetic meridians. ConclusionsOur work displayed the imageries of the possible meridians for the first time, and proved with data that different foods may activate different organs following the meridian hypothesis, shedding light on a possible new method of targeted drug designs.

Market integration (MI) is a complex process through which individuals transition from relatively subsistence-based to market-oriented activities. Changes associated with MI alter the landscapes of individual health and reproductive decision-making. While the consequences of MI are often easily detected, the specific pathways through which MI affects decision-making are context-dependent and under-investigated. We employed an information-theoretic model selection approach to characterize relationships between multiple indicators of MI and three outcomes commonly associated with MI, waist circumference (n = 431), systolic blood pressure (n = 472), and age at first reproduction (n = 974), among adult matrilineal Mosuo participants from 505 households in six villages in southwest China. Different MI indicators, distributed across individual, household, and community levels of social organization, predicted these three outcomes, demonstrating that individuals’ personal circumstances, household structure, and community affect how they experience and respond to MI. We emphasize the importance of identifying and measuring multiple context-appropriate indicators of MI across levels of social organization. Theoretical frameworks that situate hypotheses of MI within specific social, cultural, and historical contexts will be most capable of identifying specific pathways through which multiple elements of MI affect different domains of decision making.