Perceived facial similarity: rethinking its use in conceptualising romantic couples

'Like attracts like’, yet robust hypothesis testing for facial similarity in romantic couples remains lacking. Two main explanations govern research on similarity in couples: (i) an adaptive hypothesis which predicts that similarity is a kinship cue for which preferences guide individuals to choose a mate with an optimal amount of relatedness, and (ii) a by-product hypothesis which predicts that similarity is a consequence of a familiarity effect where repeated exposure to familiar objects enhances their appeal in general. Previous studies on homogamy tend to adopt study designs that make assumptions about the proximate mechanisms driving homogamy, resulting in confounded variables of interest and overzealous support for an explanation without ruling out other possibilities. The aim of this thesis was to study how people respond to facial similarity in different contexts and to assess whether explanations for homogamy hold when tested under different study designs. Study 1 explored how perceptions of similarity relate to couple judgments and sibling judgments on a set of facial images of couples. A binomial mixed effects model was used to assess whether perceived similarity predicts couple and sibling judgments and whether this effect differed between the two contexts. The findings from this study revealed that perceived similarity strongly predicted sibling judgments but did not predict couple judgments, suggesting a distinction in the way similarity is used to inform assessments of consanguine and affine relationships. Study 2 replicates Study 1 while incorporating random foil pairs to additionally test how accurately people judge couples, as well as whether sibling judgments distinguish between actual couples and foil pairs. The results from this study are in agreement with Study 1 in that similarity was a better predictor of sibling judgments than couple judgments, although the latter effect was weaker than the former. Furthermore, actual couples were more likely than foils to be judged as both couples and siblings, indicating that the visual information used to make couple judgements is likely to have some overlap with the visual information used to make sibling judgements. Study 3 examined secondary data on attributions of attractiveness and trustworthiness in two-alternative forced choice tasks on self-resembling and partner-resembling transforms paired with non-resembling controls. Analysis with a mixed effects model revealed conflicting results as well as issues with the original study design. A self or partner-resembling bias was found on both attributions of attractiveness and trustworthiness and, contrary to expectations, this bias was stronger in the attractiveness condition. Additionally, partner-resembling faces were chosen more frequently when they were in the opposite-sex category and self-resembling faces were chosen more often when they were in the same-sex category. These findings could indicate that the self- and/or partner-resembling bias is driven by a familiarity effect, however, this could also be an artefact of the study design and thus further research is required to address this matter before making any such conclusion

No evidence that partnered and unpartnered gay men differ in their preferences for male facial masculinity

Women's preferences for masculine characteristics in men's faces have been extensively studied. By contrast, little is known about how gay men respond to masculine facial characteristics. One area of disagreement in the emerging literature on this topic is the association between gay men's partnership status and masculinity preference. One study found that partnered gay men showed stronger preferences for masculine faces than did single gay men, while another study found that partnered gay men showed weaker preferences for masculine faces than did single gay men. We re-examined this issue in a sample of 618 gay men, finding no significant difference between partnered and single gay men's masculinity preferences. Together with the mixed previous findings, our null result suggests that the effect of partnership status on gay men's face preferences is not robust

British Council School Programmes in Scotland: an Impact Study: Final Report

This report evaluates the impact of British Council programmes in Scottish schools, particularly their contribution to closing the attainment gap for students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. British Council Scotland works with approximately a third of all schools in Scotland through programmes, including Erasmus+, Connecting Classrooms, e-Twinning, and Modern Language Assistants, that enrich curriculum, pedagogy and professional development with a global outlook. Despite a variety of definitions and treatments, there is growing attention to global citizenship education and sustainability education as important curricular goals across nations and systems.The research reported herein sought to document the impact of BC programmes in Scottish schools, and its contribution to the Attainment Challenge’s focus on achieving both excellence and equity. It used a mixed methods approach of quantitative data analysis (using open national data and individual pupil data) in combination with qualitative case studies of differently positioned schools and interviews with senior staff in key stakeholder agencies

Spring–summer net community production, new production, particle export and related water column biogeochemical processes in the marginal sea ice zone of the Western Antarctic Peninsula 2012–2014

New production (New P, the rate of net primary production (NPP) supported by exogenously supplied limiting nutrients) and net community production (NCP, gross primary production not consumed by community respiration) are closely related but mechanistically distinct processes. They set the carbon balance in the upper ocean and define an upper limit for export from the system. The relationships, relative magnitudes and variability of New P (from 15NO3– uptake), O2 : argon-based NCP and sinking particle export (based on the 238U : 234Th disequilibrium) are increasingly well documented but still not clearly understood. This is especially true in remote regions such as polar marginal ice zones. Here we present a 3-year dataset of simultaneous measurements made at approximately 50 stations along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) continental shelf in midsummer (January) 2012–2014. Net seasonal-scale changes in water column inventories (0–150 m) of nitrate and iodide were also estimated at the same stations. The average daily rates based on inventory changes exceeded the shorter-term rate measurements. A major uncertainty in the relative magnitude of the inventory estimates is specifying the start of the growing season following sea-ice retreat. New P and NCP(O2) did not differ significantly. New P and NCP(O2) were significantly greater than sinking particle export from thorium-234. We suggest this is a persistent and systematic imbalance and that other processes such as vertical mixing and advection of suspended particles are important export pathways

Do 3D face images capture cues of strength, weight, and height better than 2D face images do?

Objectives: A large literature exists investigating the extent to which physical characteristics (e.g., strength, weight, and height) can be accurately assessed from face images. While most of these studies have employed two-dimensional (2D) face images as stimuli, some recent studies have used three-dimensional (3D) face images because they may contain cues not visible in 2D face images. As equipment required for 3D face images is considerably more expensive than that required for 2D face images, we here investigated how perceptual ratings of physical characteristics from 2D and 3D face images compare. Methods: We tested whether 3D face images capture cues of strength, weight, and height better than 2D face images do by directly comparing the accuracy of strength, weight, and height ratings of 182 2D and 3D face images taken simultaneously. Strength, height and weight were rated by 66, 59 and 52 raters respectively, who viewed both 2D and 3D images. Results: In line with previous studies, we found that weight and height can be judged somewhat accurately from faces; contrary to previous research, we found that people were relatively inaccurate at assessing strength. We found no evidence that physical characteristics could be judged more accurately from 3D than 2D images. Conclusion: Our results suggest physical characteristics are perceived with similar accuracy from 2D and 3D face images. They also suggest that the substantial costs associated with collecting 3D face scans may not be justified for research on the accuracy of facial judgments of physical characteristics

A travelling heads study investigating qMRI metrics on cortical regions

Technological advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have facilitated numerous studies on neural architecture, such as studies addressing pathology, behaviour or individual differences in brain activity. It is important, however, to first ascertain what variation can arise due to site-specific scanner properties (hard- and software). A certain amount of noise in MR images can indeed be attributable to such properties, even when the same scanner is used across different sites. Reproducibility across sites is possible with the use of quantitative MRI metrics (qMRI), where physical properties assigned to voxels allow for non-invasive analysis of brain tissue including sensitivity to iron and myelin content. Leutritz et al. (2020) investigated intra-site (scan-rescan) and intersite (between sites) variability on Siemens and Philips scanners through multi-parameter mapping techniques (MPM). The authors found intra-site scan-rescan coefficients of variance (CoV) ranging between 4% and 16% across parameters, with similar results for inter-site CoV. The current study implements a similar strategy to Leutritz et al. (2020) in that it investigates inter-site and interscanner variability in a "travelling heads" type of study. Using scanners by the same manufacturer (but two different models), the study investigates qMRI metrics for inter-site and inter-scanner differences and their corresponding effects on cortical regions.peer-reviewe

Final report in connection with MED-ERMIS (Mediterranean Environmental Reporting Monitoring and Information System) MALTA

This report outlines the work that has been carried so far as part of the MED-ERMIS (Malta) project between November 2000 and November 2002. The Sustainability Indicators – Malta Observatory (SI-MO) was established in November 2000 to meet the requirements of the MED-ERMIS (Malta) project. The Observatory’s main remit was to conduct research and development work, and to disseminate information on Sustainability Indicators for Malta. SI-MO engaged research assistants, consultants and secretarial staff in order to assist in the execution of this project.peer-reviewe

Ten years of external quality assessment (EQA) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial susceptibility testing in Europe elucidate high reliability of data

BACKGROUND: Confidence in any diagnostic and antimicrobial susceptibility testing data is provided by appropriate and regular quality assurance (QA) procedures. In Europe, the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Susceptibility Programme (Euro-GASP) has been monitoring the antimicrobial susceptibility in Neisseria gonorrhoeae since 2004. Euro-GASP includes an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme as an essential component for a quality-assured laboratory-based surveillance programme. Participation in the EQA scheme enables any problems with the performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing to be identified and addressed, feeds into the curricula of laboratory training organised by the Euro-GASP network, and assesses the capacity of individual laboratories to detect emerging new, rare and increasing antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Participant performance in the Euro-GASP EQA scheme over a 10 year period (2007 to 2016, no EQA in 2013) was evaluated. METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility category and MIC results from the first 5 years (2007-2011) of the Euro-GASP EQA were compared with the latter 5 years (2012-2016). These time periods were selected to assess the impact of the 2012 European Union case definitions for the reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility. RESULTS: Antimicrobial susceptibility category agreement in each year was ≥91%. Discrepancies in susceptibility categories were generally because the MICs for EQA panel isolates were on or very close to the susceptibility or resistance breakpoints. A high proportion of isolates tested over the 10 years were within one (≥90%) or two (≥97%) MIC log2 dilutions of the modal MIC, respectively. The most common method used was Etest on GC agar base. There was a shift to using breakpoints published by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) in the latter 5 years, however overall impact on the validity of results was limited, as the percentage categorical agreement and MIC concordance changed very little between the two five-year periods. CONCLUSIONS: The high level of comparability of results in this EQA scheme indicates that high quality data are produced by the Euro-GASP participants and gives confidence in susceptibility and resistance data generated by laboratories performing decentralised testing.The study was funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Framework Contract No. ECDC/2013/015). The funding body contributed to the design of the study, the interpretation of the data and to the writing of the manuscript.S

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London