| 1. |
- Andrighetto, Giulia, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The emergence of COVID-19 dramatically changed social behavior across societies and contexts. Here we study whether social norms also changed. Specifically, we study this question for cultural tightness (the degree to which societies generally have strong norms), specific social norms (e.g. stealing, hand washing), and norms about enforcement, using survey data from 30,431 respondents in 43 countries recorded before and in the early stages following the emergence of COVID-19. Using variation in disease intensity, we shed light on the mechanisms predicting changes in social norm measures. We find evidence that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased while tightness and punishing frequency slightly decreased but observe no evidence for a robust change in most other norms. Thus, at least in the short term, our findings suggest that cultures are largely stable to pandemic threats except in those norms, hand washing in this case, that are perceived to be directly relevant to dealing with the collective threat. Tightness-looseness theory predicts that social norms strengthen following threat. Here the authors test this and find that, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, hand washing norms increased, but no evidence was observed for a robust change in most other norms.
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| 2. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Research. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate. Little is known about peoples preferred responses to norm violations across countries. Here, in a study of 57 countries, the authors highlight cultural similarities and differences in peoples perception of the appropriateness of norm violations.
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| 3. |
- Galvan-Alvarez, Victor, et al.
(författare)
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Antioxidant enzymes and Nrf2/Keap1 in human skeletal muscle: Influence of age, sex, adiposity and aerobic fitness
- 2023
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Ingår i: Free Radical Biology & Medicine. - : Elsevier Inc.. - 0891-5849 .- 1873-4596. ; 209:Part 2, s. 282-291
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whether a higher aerobic fitness is associated with increased expression of antioxidant enzymes and their regulatory factors in skeletal muscle remains unknown. Although oestrogens could promote a higher antioxidant capacity in females, it remains unknown whether a sex dimorphism exists in humans regarding the antioxidant capacity of skeletal muscle. Thus, the aim was to determine the protein expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes SOD1, SOD2, catalase and glutathione reductase (GR) and their regulatory factors Nrf2 and Keap1 in 189 volunteers (120 males and 69 females) to establish whether sex differences exist and how age, VO2max and adiposity influence these. For this purpose, vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained in all participants under resting and unstressed conditions. No significant sex differences in Nrf2, Keap1, SOD1, SOD2, catalase and GR protein expression levels were observed after accounting for VO2max, age and adiposity differences. Multiple regression analysis indicates that the VO2max in mL.kg LLM−1.min−1can be predicted from the levels of SOD2, Total Nrf2 and Keap1 (R = 0.58, P < 0.001), with SOD2 being the main predictor explaining 28 % of variance in VO2max, while Nrf2 and Keap1 explained each around 3 % of the variance. SOD1 protein expression increased with ageing in the whole group after accounting for differences in VO2max and body fat percentage. Overweight and obesity were associated with increased pSer40-Nrf2, pSer40-Nrf2/Total Nrf2 ratio and SOD1 protein expression levels after accounting for differences in age and VO2max. Overall, at the population level, higher aerobic fitness is associated with increased basal expression of muscle antioxidant enzymes, which may explain some of the benefits of regular exercise.
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| 4. |
- Perez-Valera, Mario, et al.
(författare)
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Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (SARS-CoV-2 receptor) expression in human skeletal muscle
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0905-7188 .- 1600-0838. ; 31:12, s. 2249-2258
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study aimed to determine the levels of skeletal muscle Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor) protein expression in men and women and assess whether ACE2 expression in skeletal muscle is associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and adiposity. The level of ACE2 in vastus lateralis muscle biopsies collected in previous studies from 170 men (age:19-65 yrs, weight:56-137 kg, BMI:23-44) and 69 women (age:18-55 yrs, weight:41-126 kg, BMI:22-39) was analysed in duplicate by western blot. VO2max was determined by ergospirometry and body composition by DXA. ACE2 protein expression was 1.8-fold higher in women than men (p=0.001, n=239). This sex difference disappeared after accounting for the percentage of body fat (fat %), VO2max per kg of legs lean mass (VO2max-LLM) and age (p=0.47). Multiple regression analysis showed that the fat % (β=0.47) is the main predictor of the variability in ACE2 protein expression in skeletal muscle, explaining 5.2 % of the variance. VO2max-LLM had also predictive value (β=0.09). There was a significant fat % by VO2max-LLM interaction, such that for subjects with low fat %, VO2max-LLM was positively associated with ACE2 expression while as fat % increased the slope of the positive association between VO2max-LLM and ACE2 was reduced. In conclusion, women express higher amounts of ACE2 in their skeletal muscles than men. This sexual dimorphism is mainly explained by sex differences in fat % and cardiorespiratory fitness. The percentage of body fat is the main predictor of the variability in ACE2 protein expression in human skeletal muscle.
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| 5. |
- Van Doesum, Niels J., et al.
(författare)
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Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe
- 2021
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 118:35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.
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