Pesticide Effects on Orthopteroid Distribution in Southern Michigan Farmlands

The occulrence and abundance of 22 species of orthopteroids is compared for isolated farm yards surrounded by corn fields which were either treated or not treated with a pesticide combination consisting of the herbicides Sutan and AAtrex, and the insecticide Dyfonate. All 22 species were present in the untreated plots, whereas only 12 were recorded in the treated plots, a 45.5% reduction. Species characteristics determining the observed differences, in the order of decreasing importance, are: general abundance in non-treated areas, seasonal periodism, and vagility. More common species and fewer uncommon species were present in the treated areas, apparently because of the more diverse feeding habits of the former. Nearly all vernal species were absent from the treated areas, possibly because of direct mortality incurred at the time of pesticide application (spring). Those species with greater flight ability were better represented in the treated areas; evidently the corn fields to which the pesticides were applied formed an effective barrier that inhibited immigration of at least the short-winged or flightless species

Competition-related factors directly influence preferences for facial cues of dominance in allies

Alliance formation is a critical dimension of social intelligence in political, social and biological systems. As some allies may provide greater ‘leverage’ than others during social conflict, the cognitive architecture that supports alliance formation in humans may be shaped by recent experience, for example in light of the outcomes of violent or non-violent forms intrasexual competition. Here we used experimental priming techniques to explore this issue. Consistent with our predictions, while men’s preference for dominant allies strengthened following losses (compared to victories) in violent intrasexual contests, women’s preferences for dominant allies weakened following losses (compared to victories) in violent intrasexual contests. Our findings suggest that while men may prefer dominant (i.e. masculine) allies following losses in violent confrontation in order to facilitate successful resource competition, women may ‘tend and befriend’ following this scenario and seek support from prosocial (i.e. feminine) allies and/or avoid the potential costs of dominant allies as long-term social partners. Moreover, they demonstrate facultative responses to signals related to dominance in allies, which may shape sex differences in sociality in light of recent experience and suggest that intrasexual selection has shaped social intelligence in humans

Perceiving infant faces

Evolutionary theories have long been used to generate testable predictions about responses to adult facial cues in the contexts of mate choice, cooperation, and intrasexual competition, among others. More recently, researchers have also used evolutionary theories to guide research on responses to infant facial cues. Here we review some of this work, focusing on research investigating hormonal regulation of responses to infant facial cuteness and the role of kinship cues in perceptions of infant faces. These studies suggest that sex hormones have dissociable effects on the reward value of and perceptual sensitivity to infant facial cuteness. They also suggest that attitudes and behavior toward infants displaying cues of kinship are complex processes influenced by individual differences

Reported maternal tendencies predict the reward value of infant facial cuteness, but not cuteness detection

The factors that contribute to individual differences in the reward value of cute infant facial characteristics are poorly understood. Here we show that the effect of cuteness on a behavioral measure of the reward value of infant faces is greater among women reporting strong maternal tendencies. By contrast, maternal tendencies did not predict women’s subjective ratings of the cuteness of these infant faces. These results show, for the first time, that the reward value of infant facial cuteness is greater among women who report being more interested in interacting with infants, implicating maternal tendencies in individual differences in the reward value of infant cuteness. Moreover, our results indicate that the relationship between maternal tendencies and the reward value of infant facial cuteness is not due to individual differences in women’s ability to detect infant cuteness. This latter result suggests that individual differences in the reward value of infant cuteness are not simply a byproduct of low cost, functionless biases in the visual system

Scarcity of female mates predicts regional variation in men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation across US states

Previous studies have linked regional variation in willingness to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships (i.e., sociosexual orientation) to many different socio-ecological measures, such as adult sex ratio, life expectancy, and gross domestic product. However, these studies share a number of potentially serious limitations, including reliance on a single dataset of responses aggregated by country and a failure to properly consider intercorrelations among different socio-ecological measures. We address these limitations by (1) collecting a new dataset of 4,453 American men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation scores, (2) using multilevel analyses to avoid aggregation, and (3) deriving orthogonal factors reflecting US state-level differences in the scarcity of female mates, environmental demands, and wealth. Analyses showed that the scarcity of female mates factor, but not the environmental demand or wealth factors, predicted men’s and women’s sociosexual orientation. Participants reported being less willing to engage in uncommitted sexual relationships when female mates were scarce. These results highlight the importance of scarcity of female mates for regional differences in men’s and women’s mating strategies. They also suggest that effects of wealth-related measures and environmental demands reported in previous research may be artifacts of intercorrelations among socio-ecological measures or, alternatively, do not necessarily generalize well to new datasets

Density functional theory study of Fe(II) adsorption and oxidation on goethite surfaces

We study the interactions between Fe(II) aqua complexes and surfaces of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) by means of density functional theory calculations including the so-called Hubbard U correction to the exchange-correlation functional. Using a thermodynamic approach, we find that (110) and (021) surfaces in contact with aqueous solutions are almost equally stable, despite the evident needlelike shape of goethite crystals indicating substantially different reactivity of the two faces. We thus suggest that crystal anisotropy may result from different growth rates due to virtually barrierless adsorption of hydrated ions on the (021) but not on the (110) surface. No clear evidence is found for spontaneous electron transfer from an adsorbed Fe(II) hex-aqua complex to a defect-free goethite substrate. Crystal defects are thus inferred to play an important role in assisting such electron transfer processes observed in a recent experimental study. Finally, goethite surfaces are observed to enhance the partial oxidation of adsorbed aqueous Fe(II) upon reaction with molecular oxygen. We propose that this catalytic oxidation effect arises from donation of electronic charge from the bulk oxide to the oxidizing agent through shared hydroxyl ligands anchoring the Fe(II) complexes on the surface

Sex ratio influences the motivational salience of facial attractiveness

The sex ratio of the local population influences mating-related behaviours in many species. Recent experiments show that male-biased sex ratios increase the amount of financial resources men will invest in potential mates, suggesting that sex ratios influence allocation of mating effort in humans. To investigate this issue further, we tested for effects of cues to the sex ratio of the local population on the motivational salience of attractiveness in own-sex and opposite-sex faces. We did this using an effort-based key-press task, in which the motivational salience of facial attractiveness was assessed in samples of faces in which the ratio of male to female images was manipulated. The motivational salience of attractive opposite-sex, but not own-sex, faces was greater in the own-sex-biased (high competition for mates) than in the opposite-sex-biased (low competition for mates) condition. Moreover, this effect was not modulated by participant sex. These results present new evidence that sex ratio influences human mating-related behaviours. They also present the first evidence that the perceived sex ratio of the local population may modulate allocation of mating effort in women, as well as men

Do partnered women discriminate men's faces less along the attractiveness dimension?

Romantic relationships can have positive effects on health and reproductive fitness. Given that attractive potential alternative mates can pose a threat to romantic relationships, some researchers have proposed that partnered individuals discriminate opposite-sex individuals less along the physical attractiveness dimension than do unpartnered individuals. This effect is proposed to devalue attractive (i.e., high quality) alternative mates and help maintain romantic relationships. Here we investigated this issue by comparing the effects of men's attractiveness on partnered and unpartnered women's performance on two response measures for which attractiveness is known to be important: memory for face photographs (Study 1) and the reward value of faces (Study 2). Consistent with previous research, women's memory was poorer for face photographs of more attractive men (Study 1) and more attractive men's faces were more rewarding (Study 2). However, in neither study were these effects of attractiveness modulated by women's partnership status or partnered women's reported commitment to or happiness with their romantic relationship. These results do not support the proposal that partnered women discriminate potential alternative mates along the physical attractiveness dimension less than do unpartnered women

Letter from C. Benedict regarding Richard Auros\u27s Character and Loyalty to the U.S., 1942

Letter dated January 24, 1942 from C. Benedict to whom it may concern certifying that Benedict has been employed by the City and County Hospital of San Francisco as for the last fourteen years as a chef. Benedict elaborates that his superior officers at the hospital have been instrumental in bring his brother-in-law Richard Auros to the U.S. are also referenced as they had written recommendations for Richard Auras to the Immigration Department. Benedict explains further that Auros has been living in his home during this time, belongs to no subversive or anti-American organizations and that his loyalty to this country is unquestionable, and urges that Auras be released from Fort Lincoln and allowed to finish his course of Chiropractic and there after become a useful Citizen of the U.S.A. See also: Letter from Curt Benedict to William Langer Regarding the Internment of Richard Auras, 1946 Petition and Affidavit By Curt Benedict arguing for overturn of denial of release of Richard Auras from Internment, 1946 Letter from Richard Auras to William Langer regarding his internment status decision, 1946https://commons.und.edu/langer-papers/1186/thumbnail.jp