Was facial width-to-height ratio subject to sexual selection pressures? A life course approach

Sexual selection researchers have traditionally focused on adult sex differences; however, the schedule and pattern of sex-specific ontogeny can provide insights unobtainable from an exclusive focus on adults. Recently, it has been debated whether facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR; bi-zygomatic breadth divided by midface height) is a human secondary sexual characteristic (SSC). Here, we review current evidence, then address this debate using ontogenetic evidence, which has been under-explored in fWHR research. Facial measurements were collected from 3D surface images of males and females aged 3 to 40 (Study 1; US European-descent, n = 2449), and from 2D photographs of males and females aged 7 to 21 (Study 2; Bolivian Tsimane, n = 179), which were used to calculate three fWHR variants (which we call fWHRnasion, fWHRstomion, and fWHRbrow) and two other common facial masculinity ratios (facial width-to-lower-face-height ratio, fWHRlower, and cheekbone prominence). We test whether the observed pattern of facial development exhibits patterns indicative of SSCs, i.e., differential adolescent growth in either male or female facial morphology leading to an adult sex difference. Results showed that only fWHRlower exhibited both adult sex differences as well as the classic pattern of ontogeny for SSCs—greater lower-face growth in male adolescents relative to females. fWHRbrow was significantly wider among both pre- and post-pubertal males in the Bolivian Tsimane sample; post-hoc analyses revealed that the effect was driven by large sex differences in brow height, with females having higher placed brows than males across ages. In both samples, all fWHR measures were inversely associated with age; that is, human facial growth is characterized by greater relative elongation in the mid-face and lower face relative to facial width. This trend continues even into middle adulthood. BMI was also a positive predictor of most of the ratios across ages, with greater BMI associated with wider faces. Researchers collecting data on fWHR should target fWHRlower and fWHRbrow and should control for both age and BMI. Researchers should also compare ratio approaches with multivariate techniques, such as geometric morphometrics, to examine whether the latter have greater utility for understanding the evolution of facial sexual dimorphism

The CTSA Consortium's Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research (CATCHR)

The 61 CTSA Consortium sites are home to valuable programs and infrastructure supporting translational science and all are charged with ensuring that such investments translate quickly to improved clinical care. Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research (CATCHR) is the Consortium's effort to collect and make available information on programs and resources to maximize efficiency and facilitate collaborations. By capturing information on a broad range of assets supporting the entire clinical and translational research spectrum, CATCHR aims to provide the necessary infrastructure and processes to establish and maintain an open‐access, searchable database of consortium resources to support multisite clinical and translational research studies. Data are collected using rigorous, defined methods, with the resulting information made visible through an integrated, searchable Web‐based tool. Additional easy‐to‐use Web tools assist resource owners in validating and updating resource information over time. In this paper, we discuss the design and scope of the project, data collection methods, current results, and future plans for development and sustainability. With increasing pressure on research programs to avoid redundancy, CATCHR aims to make available information on programs and core facilities to maximize efficient use of resources.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106893/1/cts12144.pd

Improved monitoring of clinical response in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus by longitudinal trend in soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1

This work was funded by Arthritis Research UK. MJL holds an Arthritis Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship (19631), and was previously supported by the St Thomas’ Lupus Trust. The study received support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded Flow Cytometry Core Facility and the Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, in partnership with King’s College London

The CTSA Consortium's Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research (CATCHR): The Ctsa Consortium's Catchr

The 61 CTSA Consortium sites are home to valuable programs and infrastructure supporting translational science and all are charged with ensuring that such investments translate quickly to improved clinical care. CATCHR (Catalog of Assets for Translational and Clinical Health Research) is the Consortium’s effort to collect and make available information on programs and resources to maximize efficiency and facilitate collaborations. By capturing information on a broad range of assets supporting the entire clinical and translational research spectrum, CATCHR aims to provide the necessary infrastructure and processes to establish and maintain an open-access, searchable database of consortium resources to support multi-site clinical and translational research studies. Data is collected using rigorous, defined methods, with the resulting information made visible through an integrated, searchable web-based tool. Additional easy to use web tools assist resource owners in validating and updating resource information over time. In this article, we discuss the design and scope of the project, data collection methods, current results, and future plans for development and sustainability. With increasing pressure on research programs to avoid redundancy, CATCHR aims to make available information on programs and core facilities to maximize efficient use of resources

Pool Boiling Performance Comparison of Smooth and Sintered Copper Surfaces with and without Carbon Nanotubes

Pool boiling heat transfer is measured with two individual working fluids on copper surfaces enhanced with sintered copper powder and carbon nanotubes. The working fluids are a segregated hydrofluoroether, HFE-7300 (3M Electronic Markets Materials Division, St. Paul, MN), and deionized water. The surfaces considered in the experiments include smooth copper, copper with sintered copper particles, smooth copper with copper-coated carbon nanotubes (CNT), and copper with sintered copper particles and copper-coated carbon nanotubes. Characteristics of the resulting boiling curves are discussed and analyzed. Lower wall superheats resulted from both the sintered particles and the CNT array for both working fluids. For water, there was no additional benefit from the addition of CNTs on the sintered particle substrate. For HFE-7300, however, the hybrid (sintered with CNTs) surface achieved the lowest wall superheat at high heat fluxes. Critical heat flux for HFE-7300 increased by more than 45% for the hybrid surface relative to the smooth copper surface

Physical Competition Increases Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Androstenedione rather than Testosterone among Juvenile Boy Soccer Players

We examined potential changes in salivary DHEA, androstenedione, cortisol, testosterone, and cortisol/DHEA ratio in boys in response to soccer practice and soccer match competition. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore the impacts of athletic competition on salivary steroid hormone change in juvenile boy soccer players. Boys from five different Las Vegas, Nevada teams provided saliva samples during soccer practice (N = 28), with four out of five teams providing saliva samples during a soccer match (N = 26). All participants were aged 8 – 10 years. A Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Sum Test and standard linear regression analyses were performed to assess the change in hormone concentrations during soccer practice and soccer match competition. Results revealed a statistically significant rise in boys’ DHEA concentrations during both practice and match play. Androstenedione significantly increased during the match competition only. Cortisol did not change with statistical significance during either condition. A Friedman’s ANOVA was used to evaluate within-subject differences in boys who participated in both the practice and match treatments (N = 17). Cortisol was the only hormone measure that, with statistical significance, increased more during the match than it did during practice. Analysis of the cortisol/DHEA ratios revealed a statistically significant decrease occurred during practice only. No statistical analysis was available for testosterone since all but seven samples were below the sensitivity of the assay (\u3c3.0 pg/mL). These data suggest acute adrenal steroid hormone release in juvenile boys is sensitive to physical competition and responds differently than adult males

Human reproductive behavior, life history, and the Challenge Hypothesis: A 30-year review, retrospective and future directions

The Challenge Hypothesis (Wingfield et al., 1990) originally focused on adult male avian testosterone elevated in response to same-sex competition in reproductive contexts. The purpose of the present paper is to demonstrate how the Challenge Hypothesis has shaped ideas about human life histories. We conduct a citation analysis, drawing upon 400 Google Scholar citations in the human literature to identify patterns in this body of scholarship. We cover key factors, such as context and personality traits, that help explain variable testosterone responses such as winning/losing to adult competitive behavior. Findings from studies on courtship and sexual behavior indicate some variation in testosterone responses depending on factors such as motivation. A large body of research indicates that male testosterone levels are often lower in contexts of long-term committed partnerships and nurturant fathering and aligned with variation in male mating and parenting effort. As the Challenge Hypothesis is extended across the life course, DHEA and androstenedione (rather than testosterone) appear more responsive to juvenile male competitive behavior, and during reproductive senescence, baseline male testosterone levels decrease just as male life history allocations show decreased mating effort. We discuss how research on testosterone administration, particularly in older men, provides causal insight into effects of testosterone in humans, and how this “natural experiment” can be viewed in light of the Challenge Hypothesis. We synthesize central concepts and findings, such as an expanded array of costs of testosterone that inform life history tradeoffs between maintenance and reproductive effort, and we conclude with directions for future research

Salivary aldosterone and cortisone respond differently to high- and low-psychologically stressful soccer competitions

Aldosterone and cortisone are released in response to physical and psychological stress. However, aldosterone and cortisone responses in children engaged in physical competition have not been described. We examined salivary aldosterone and salivary cortisone responses among Hong Kongese boys, aged 8-11 years, during (1) a soccer match against unknown competitors (N = 84, high psychological stress condition) and (2) an intrasquad soccer scrimmage against teammates (N = 81, low psychological stress condition). Aldosterone levels increased during the soccer match and intrasquad soccer scrimmage conditions, consistent with the view that aldosterone responds to physical stress. During the soccer match, winning competitors experienced larger increases in aldosterone compared to losing competitors, indicating that the degree of aldosterone increase was attenuated by match outcome. Cortisone increased during the soccer match and decreased during the intrasquad soccer scrimmage. Competitors on teams that resulted in a tie had larger cortisone increases compared to winners or losers. These findings highlight that the degree of cortisone change is related to boy\u27s cognitive appraisal of the competitor type (i.e., teammates vs. unknown competitors) and the competitive nature of the game (e.g., tie). These results shed new light on adrenal hormone mediators of stress and competition during middle childhood

Juvenile Children’s Salivary Aldosterone and Cortisone Decrease during Informal Math and Table-Tennis Competitions

Objective Among adults, aldosterone and cortisone increases are reported in response to physically taxing forms of competition, enabling individuals to rapidly adapt to variable sociocompetitive contexts. Yet, aldosterone and cortisone responses in juvenile children engaged in less strenuous forms of competition have not been investigated. Here, we sought to measure aldosterone and cortisone responses in children who participated in math and table-tennis competitions. We hypothesized that the responses would significantly vary with respect to the type of competition. Methods Pre- and post-match salivary aldosterone and cortisone were measured in Hong Kongese children, aged 8–11 years, during (1) a mixed-sex, team-based, math competition (N = 45) and (2) a dyadic, table-tennis competition against peers (N = 22). Results In the math competition, aldosterone and cortisone levels decreased in boys and girls, while members on losing teams had greater match decreases in cortisone levels compared to individuals on winning teams. In the table-tennis competition, time of day led to significant diurnal differences in competitors’ pre-match aldosterone and cortisone concentrations. As a result, each sample was analyzed independently according to match time (8:30 AM and 11:00 AM). Aldosterone levels decreased among the competitors who participated in the 11:00 AM table-tennis matches. Cortisone levels decreased for the majority of competitors, but only significantly decreased in the 8:30 AM sample. Conclusion These findings highlight that juvenile competitors’ hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) are sensitive to less physically strenuous forms of competition. Further, the differences in the competitive environment likely stimulate the direction of aldosterone (RAAS) and cortisone (HPA) reactive change