Facial masculinity is related to perceived age, but not perceived health

Variation in women's preferences for male facial masculinity may reflect variation in attraction to immunocompetence or to maturity. This paper reports two studies on (a) the interrelationships between women's preferences for masculinity, apparent health, and age in male faces and (b) the extent to which manipulating each of these characteristics affects women's attributions of the remaining characteristics. Both studies were carried out with a large sample of the general public (Studies 1a and 2a) and independently in a laboratory environment with smaller undergraduate samples (Studies 1b and 2b). In both samples, masculinity and age preferences were positively related, and masculinity preferences were not associated with preferences for apparent health. There was also a positive relationship between perceived age and perceived masculinity in both samples, but evidence for a link between perceptions of masculinity and health was equivocal. Collectively, these findings suggest that variation in women's preferences for masculine proportions in male faces reflect variation in attraction to male age and do not support a strict immunocompetence explanation of preferences for facial masculinity

Prediction of individual probabilities of livebirth and multiple birth events following in vitro fertilization (IVF): a new outcomes counselling tool for IVF providers and patients using HFEA metrics

In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a standard treatment for subfertility after it was demonstrated to be of value to humans in 1978. However, the introduction of IVF into mainstream clinical practice has been accompanied by concerns regarding the number of multiple gestations that it can produce, as multiple births present significant medical consequences to mothers and offspring. When considering IVF as a treatment modality, a balance must be set between the chance of having a live birth and the risk of having a multiple birth. As IVF is often a costly decision for patients—financially, medically, and emotionally—there is benefit from estimating a patient’s specific chance that IVF could result in a birth as fertility treatment options are contemplated. Historically, a patient’s “chance of success” with IVF has been approximated from institution-based statistics, rather than on the basis of any particular clinical parameter (except age). Furthermore, the likelihood of IVF resulting in a twin or triplet outcome must be acknowledged for each patient, given the known increased complications of multiple gestation and consequent increased risk of poor birth outcomes. In this research, we describe a multivariate risk assessment model that incorporates metrics adapted from a national 7.5-year sampling of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) dataset (1991–1998) to predict reproductive outcome (including estimation of multiple birth) after IVF. To our knowledge, http://www.formyodds.com is the first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application to predict IVF outcome. The approach also includes a confirmation functionality, where clinicians can agree or disagree with the computer-generated outcome predictions. It is anticipated that the emergence of predictive tools will augment the reproductive endocrinology consultation, improve the medical informed consent process by tailoring the outcome assessment to each patient, and reduce the potential for adverse outcomes with IVF

Light physical activity is positively associated with cognitive performance in older community dwelling adults.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the associations between an objective measure of different intensities of physical activity, upper- and lower-limb muscle strength and psychomotor performance and set-shifting domains of cognitive executive function in older adults. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: From the Tasmanian Older Adult Cohort Study, 188 community-dwelling older adults (53.7% female; mean age±SD 63.98±7.3 years) undertook 7-day physical activity behaviour monitoring using an accelerometer. Dynamometers were used to assess leg extension strength. The Trail Maker Tests were used to measure psychomotor processing speed and set-shifting performance. RESULTS: When controlling for age, smoking history, alcohol intake, educational achievement and neuropsychological functioning, higher levels of light physical activity, but not sedentary behaviour or moderate or vigorous physical activity, was found to be associated with better set-shifting performance. Neither physical activity behaviour or muscle strength were found to be associated with psychomotor performance. In addition, older age, greater alcohol intake, and lower levels of educational attainment, verbal learning and memory performance were significantly associated with lower scores on the set-shifting task; whereas older age and reduced neuropsychological functioning were associated with lower psychomotor processing speed scores. CONCLUSIONS: Light physical activity is associated with higher executive functioning in community-dwelling older adults and this strengthens the evidence supporting exercise as a neuroprotective agent. Further studies are needed to understand why light physical activity behaviour positively influences executive functioning, and how such physical activity can be implemented into the daily routine of older adults

Arctic ocean shelf-basin interaction: An active continental shelf CO2 pump and its impact on the degree of calcium carbonate solubility

The Arctic Ocean has wide shelf areas with extensive biological activity including a high primary productivity and an active microbial loop within the surface sediment. This in combination with brine production during sea ice formation result in the decay products exiting from the shelf into the deep basin typically at a depth of about 150 m and over a wide salinity range centered around S not, vert, similar33. We present data from the Beringia cruise in 2005 along a section in the Canada Basin from the continental margin north of Alaska towards the north and from the International Siberian Shelf Study in 2008 (ISSS-08) to illustrate the impact of these processes. The water rich in decay products, nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), exits the shelf not only from the Chukchi Sea, as has been shown earlier, but also from the East Siberian Sea. The excess of DIC found in the Canada Basin in a depth range of about 50–250 m amounts to 90±40 g C m−2. If this excess is integrated over the whole Canadian Basin the excess equals 320±140×1012 g C. The high DIC concentration layer also has low pH and consequently a low degree of calcium carbonate saturation, with minimum aragonite values of 60% saturation and calcite values just below saturation. The mean age of the waters in the top 300 m was calculated using the transit time distribution method. By applying a future exponential increase of atmospheric CO2 the invasion of anthropogenic carbon into these waters will result in an under-saturated surface water with respect to aragonite by the year 2050, even without any freshening caused by melting sea ice or increased river discharge

A Biphasic Glucose Response during an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test Is Associated with Greater Plasma Insulin and GLP-1 Responses and a Reduction in 1-Hour Glucose but Does Not Relate to the Rate of Gastric Emptying in Healthy, Older Adults

Published: 6 September 2023Background: The pattern of the plasma glucose response curve during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is of prognostic significance with “biphasic” when compared with “monophasic” patterns being associated with greater insulin sensitivity/secretion and a reduced risk of progression to diabetes. The relationships of the glucose response curves with gastric emptying and incretin hormone secretion are not known. Methods: Thirty-six adults (age > 65 years) without known diabetes consumed a 300 mL drink containing 75 g glucose and 150 mg C¹³-acetate at baseline and follow-up after 5.8 ± 0.1 years. Plasma glucose, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), glucose independent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and insulin were measured, and participants classified according to the pattern of their glucose response. Gastric emptying was measured on breath samples (stable isotope breath test). Results: At baseline, 22 participants had a “monophasic” and 14 a “biphasic” glucose response. The 1 h plasma glucose response curve was greater and the GLP-1 AUC₀_₁₂₀ min and insulin secretion lower in the monophasic group. There were no differences in gastric emptying, GIP or insulin sensitivity. At the follow-up, the 1 h glucose response curve was greater again, while GLP-1 AUC₀_₁₂₀ min was lower in the monophasic group. Conclusions: A biphasic curve is associated with a higher 60 min glucose response curve and increases in GLP-1, but no difference in either GIP or gastric emptying.Ryan J. Jalleh, Chinmay S. Marathe, Laurence G. Trahair, Karen L Jones, and Michael Horowit

Quantum phase gate with a selective interaction

We present a proposal for implementing quantum phase gates using selective interactions. We analize selectivity and the possibility to implement these gates in two particular systems, namely, trapped ions and Cavity QED.Comment: Four pages of TEX file and two EPS figures. Submitted for publicatio

Quantum inference of states and processes

The maximum-likelihood principle unifies inference of quantum states and processes from experimental noisy data. Particularly, a generic quantum process may be estimated simultaneously with unknown quantum probe states provided that measurements on probe and transformed probe states are available. Drawbacks of various approximate treatments are considered.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Effect of gastric distension with concurrent small intestinal saline or glucose infusion on incretin hormone secretion in healthy individuals - a randomised, controlled, cross-over study.

Aims There is increasing interest in the use of intragastric balloons as a weight loss procedure, however, the underlying mechanism(s) remain unclear. In rodents, gastric distension has recently been shown to stimulate the secretion of the incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) substantially, but the effect of gastric distension on GLP-1 and the other incretin hormone, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), in humans is not known. We conducted a randomized, controlled, crossover study to evaluate the effect of gastric distension, induced using a gastric 'barostat' on incretin hormones in healthy individuals Materials and methods Eight healthy participants (2 female, 6 male, mean age 69.3±1.2 years, and body mass index 23.5±0.8 kg/m²) were each studied on four occasions when they received an intraduodenal infusion of either (i) 0.9% saline or (ii) glucose delivered at a rate of 3 kcal/min both with, and without, an intragastric balloon with the pressure set to 8 mmHg above the intragastric minimum distending pressure. Results Following intraduodenal saline or glucose infusion, there was no difference in plasma GLP-1 with or without gastric distension (P=1.00 for both saline and glucose infusions). There was also no difference in plasma GIP with or without gastric distension (P=1.00 for saline infusion and P=0.99 for glucose infusion). Conclusion We conclude that gastric distension, either alone or during small intestinal glucose exposure, does not stimulate incretin hormone secretion significantly in healthy humans. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Ryan J. Jalleh, Laurence G. Trahair, Tongzhi Wu, Scott Standfield, Christine Feinle-Bisset, Christopher K. Rayner, Michael Horowitz, Karen L. Jone

A versatile method for simulating pp -> ppe+e- and dp -> pne+e-p_spec reactions

We have developed a versatile software package for the simulation of di-electron production in $pp$ and $dp$ collisions at SIS energies. Particular attention has been paid to incorporate different descriptions of the Dalitz decay $\Delta \to N e^+e^-$ via a common interface. In addition, suitable parameterizations for the virtual bremsstrahlung process $NN \to NN e^+e^-$ based on one-boson exchange models have been implemented. Such simulation tools with high flexibility of the framework are important for the interpretation of the di-electron data taken with the HADES spectrometer and the design of forthcoming experiments