Molecular characteristics of humic substances from different origins and their effects on growth and metabolism of Pinus laricio callus

Abstract Humic susbtances (HS) are increasingly applied as biostimulants in agriculture, though their mechanism of action is not yet completely understood due to their complex and heterogeneous composition. Here, we isolated thirteen different humic and fulvic acids from different sources, such as soils, composts, peat, leonardite and lignite, and characterized the distribution of their carbon components by 13C-CPMAS–NMR spectroscopy. Callus of Pinus Laricio, as a model plant species, was treated with different humic extracts and its growth and content of carbohydrates, phenols, and enzyme related to the nitrogen metabolism (invertase, glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase, phosphoenoly pyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase) and stress resistance (catalase) were monitored. While a multivariate statistical analysis of NMR results well-separated the HS characteristics based on their origin, humic materials generally increased callus growth, as expected, with largest effects being exerted by the mostly polar humic acids from composts. However, the rest of measured parameters were not linearly related to hydrophobicity and aromaticity of humic isolates as well as their origin, but their conformational dynamics had to be advocated to explain their effects on callus cellular components. This work confirms that HS of various origin can act as sustainable biostimulants of plant growth, though the comprehension of their effects on plants biochemical activities requires further research and additional understanding of their molecular composition and conformational behaviour. Graphical Abstrac

Sex differences in misperceptions of sexual interest can be explained by sociosexual orientation and men projecting their own interest onto women

Sex differences in misperceptions of sexual interest have been well documented; however, it is unclear whether this cognitive bias could be explained by other factors. In the current study, 1226 participants (578 men, 630 women) participated in a speed-dating study, where participants rated their sexual interest in each other as well as the sexual interest they perceived from their partners. Consistent with previous findings, we found that men tended to overperceive sexual interest from their partners, while women tended to underperceive sexual interest. However, this sex difference becomes negligible when considering potential mediators, such as the raters’ sociosexual orientation, and raters projecting their own levels of sexual interest onto their partners. These findings challenge the popular notion that sex differences in misperceptions in sexual interest have evolved as a specialised adaptation due to different selection pressures in men and women

Microbes and masculinity: Does exposure to pathogenic cues alter women's preferences for male facial masculinity and beardedness?

Women’s preferences for men’s androgen dependent secondary sexual traits are proposed to be phenotypically plastic in response to exposure to pathogens and pathogen disgust. While previous studies report that masculinity in facial shape is more attractive to women who have recently been exposed to pathogenic cues and who are high in self-reported pathogen disgust, facial hair may reduce male attractiveness under conditions of high pathogens as beards are a possible breeding ground for disease carrying ectoparasites. In the present study, we test whether women’s preferences for beardedness and facial masculinity vary due to exposure to different pathogenic cues. Participants (N = 688, mean age + 1SD = 31.94 years, SD = 6.69, range = 18–67) rated the attractiveness of facial composite stimuli of men when they were clean-shaven or fully bearded. These stimuli were also manipulated in order to vary sexual dimorphism by ±50%. Ratings were conducted before and after exposure to one of four experimental treatments in which participants were primed to either high pathogens (e.g. infected cuts), ectoparasites (e.g. body lice), a mixture of pathogens and ectoparasites, or a control condition (e.g. innocuous liquids). Participants then completed the three-domain disgust scale measuring attitudes to moral, sexual and pathogen disgust. We predicted that women would prefer facial masculinity following exposure to pathogenic cues, but would show reduced preferences for facial hair following exposure to ectoparasites. Women preferred full beards over clean-shaven faces and masculinised over feminised faces. However, none of the experimental treatments influenced the direction of preferences for facial masculinity or beardedness. We also found no association between women’s self-reported pathogen disgust and their preferences for facial masculinity. However, there was a weak positive association between moral disgust scores and preferences for facial masculinity, which might reflect conservatism and preferences for gender typicality in faces. Women’s preferences for beards were positively associated with their pathogen disgust, which runs contrary to our predictions and may reflect preferences for high quality individuals who can withstand any costs of beardedness, although further replications are necessary before firm conclusions can be made. We conclude that there is little support for pathogenic exposure being a mechanism that underpins women’s directional preferences for masculine traits

Evoluzione della sostanza organica in suoli rappresentativi dell'altopiano della Sila

Abstract: Organic-matter evolution of soils from Sila uplands (Calabria, Italy). Soil organic matter (SOM) has long been known for its central role in chemical, biochemical and physiological soil processes. Efforts in optimizing crop production, minimizing environmental pollution, and enhancing soil quality all require a better understanding of the nature and evolution of soil organic matter for its proper management. Four sites (S1 ' S4), developed on an area of about 9000 ha, in the Sila Mountains, were evaluated to study the turnover of the soil organic matter. The SOM of four sites studied undergoes to a fast mineralization process in the sites S1, S3 and S4, a pastureland, a grass-pastureland, and a cropland, respectively. An opposite trend is observed in the S2 site, under mixed forest of coniferous and broadleaf, where prevailed the humification process

For the good of evolutionary psychology, let's reunite proximate and ultimate explanations

First paragraph: In Lee, Sidari, Murphy, Sherlock, and Zietsch (2020), we showed using a large speed dating study that sex differences in misperceptions of sexual interest can be explained by sociosexual orientation and, primarily, the tendency to project one's own interest onto others. We suggested that our results called into question the influential theory that the sex difference in misperception of sexual interest evolved via sex-specific specialized adaptations because it is advantageous for men, relative to women, to overperceive sexual interest (error management theory; EMT). Roth, Samara, and Kret (2020) criticise our interpretation, claiming that 1) our analyses are confounded and 2) we have confused proximate and ultimate levels of explanation. We reject both claims, but the second is an interesting and important issue that has arisen repeatedly in discussions of our paper, as well as in other contexts in the broader literature on evolution and human behavior. We spend some time discussing why proximate explanations are crucial to a healthy evolutionary psychology, and why we believe evolutionary psychologists should pay more attention to them

The effect of yeast on the anthocyanin characteristics of fermented model solutions

The sensory quality of red wines is basically determined by the colour, which depends on the amount and on the evolution of anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds extracting from the berries into the wine during wine-making. The anthocyanin-monomers are responsible for the development of the red colour, and their acylated derivatives provide stability for the colour of the wines. The anthocyanin profile of wines is affected by several factors: the grape variety, the conditions during wine-making, and also the yeast culture used for the fermentation. In our experiments a self-compiled model solution was fermented by spontaneous fermentation, as well as by four commercial yeasts under laboratory conditions. After fermentation total polyphenolics, anthocyanins, anthocyanin monomer profile, colour intensity, hue, and the ratio of polymeric anthocyanins were studied. Our results show that the spontaneous yeast fermentation resulted in a higher anthocyanin concentration in the fermented model solution, but the commercial yeast strains provided a more advantageous colour characteristic compared to the spontaneous fermentation. After the spontaneous fermentation less sediment was left than in the commercial yeast fermented samples

Mating strategies and the masculinity paradox: How relationship context, relationship status, and sociosexuality shape women's preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness

According to the dual mating strategy model, in short-term mating contexts women should forego paternal investment qualities in favor of mates with well-developed secondary sexual characteristics and dominant behavioral displays. We tested whether this model explains variation in women’s preferences for facial masculinity and beardedness in male faces. Computer-generated composites that had been morphed to appear +/-50% masculine were rated by 671 heterosexual women (M age = 31.72 years, SD = 6.43) for attractiveness when considering them as a short-term partner, long-term partner, a co-parent or a friend. They then completed the Revised Sociosexual Inventory (SOI-R) to determine their sexual openness on dimensions of desire, behavior, and attitudes. Results showed that women’s preferences were strongest for average facial masculinity, followed by masculinized faces, with feminized faces being least attractive. In contrast to past research, facial masculinity preferences were stronger when judging for co-parenting partners than for short-term mates. Facial masculinity preferences were also positively associated with behavioral SOI, negatively with desire, and were unrelated to global or attitudinal SOI. Women gave higher ratings for full beards than clean-shaven faces. Preferences for beards were higher for co-parenting and long-term relationships than short-term relationships, although these differences were not statistically significant. Preferences for facial hair were positively associated with global and attitudinal SOI, but were unrelated to behavioral SOI and desire. Although further replication is necessary, our findings indicate that sexual openness is associated with women’s preferences for men’s facial hair and suggest variation in the association between sociosexuality and women’s facial masculinity preferences