Own attractiveness and perceived relationship quality shape sensitivity in women’s memory for other men on the attractiveness dimension

Although recent work suggests that opposite-sex facial attractiveness is less salient in memory when individuals are in a committed romantic relationship, romantic relationship quality can vary over time. In light of this, we tested whether activating concerns about romantic relationship quality strengthens memory for attractive faces. Partnered women were exposed briefly to faces manipulated in shape cues to attractiveness before either being asked to think about a moment of emotional closeness or distance in their current relationship. We measured sensitivity in memory for faces as the extent to which they recognized correct versions of studied faces over versions of the same person altered to look either more or less-attractive than their original (i.e. studied) version. Contrary to predictions, high relationship quality strengthened hit rate for faces regardless of the sex or attractiveness of the face. In general, women’s memories were more sensitive to attractiveness in women, but were biased toward attractiveness in male faces, both when responding to unfamiliar faces and versions of familiar faces that were more attractive than the original male identity from the learning phase. However, findings varied according to self-rated attractiveness and a psychometric measure of the quality of their current relationship. Attractive women were more sensitive to attractiveness in men, while their less-attractive peers had a stronger bias to remember women as more-attractive and men as less-attractive than their original image respectively. Women in better-quality romantic relationships had stronger positive biases toward, and false memories for, attractive men. Our findings suggest a sophisticated pattern of sensitivity and bias in women’s memory for facial cues to quality that varies systematically according to factors that may alter the costs of female mating competition (‘market demand’) and relationship maintenance

Self-reported dominance in women: Associations with hormonal contraceptive use, relationship status, and testosterone

How to achieve dominance in a group is a recurrent challenge for individuals of many species, including humans. Previous research indicates that both relationship status and contraceptive use appear to moderate women’s testosterone levels. If testosterone contributes to dominance, this raises the possibility for group differences in dominance between single and partnered women, and between users and non-users of hormonal contraception. Here, we examine associations between relationship status and use/non-use of hormonal contraception and women’s self-reported social dominance. In a sample of 84 women, we replicate previous research documenting a significant positive correlation between women’s saliva testosterone levels and their self-reported dominance. Consistent with other literature, we also find that women using hormonal contraception have significantly lower testosterone than those who are regularly cycling and that partnered women have significantly lower testosterone than single women. Although we do not find a main effect of either relationship status or hormonal contraceptive use status on women’s reported levels of dominance, the interaction between these variables predicted reported dominance scores. This interaction remained significant when participant age and testosterone values were added to the model as covariates. We discuss these results in the context of the existing literature on testosterone and women’s dominance behaviour and with respect to the evolutionary benefits of social dominance in women

Equipment management trial : final report

Executive Summary The Equipment Management (EM) trial was one of the practical initiatives conceived and implemented by members of The Application Home Initiative (TAHI) to demonstrate the feasibility of interoperability between white and brown goods, and other domestic equipment. The trial ran from October 2002 to June 2005, over which period it achieved its core objectives through the deployment in early 2005 of an integrated system in trials in 15 occupied homes. Prior to roll out into the field, the work was underpinned by soak testing, validation, laboratory experiments, case studies, user questionnaires, simulations and other research, conducted in a single demonstration home in Loughborough, as well as in Universities in the East Midlands and Scotland. Throughout its life, the trial faced significant membership changes, which had a far greater impact than the technical issues that were tackled. Two blue chip companies withdrew at the point of signing the collaborative agreement; another made a major change in strategic direction half way through and withdrew the major portion of its backing; another corporate left at this point, a second one later; one corporate was a late entrant; the technical leader made a boardroom decision not to do the engineering work that it had promised; one company went into liquidation; another went up for sale whilst others reorganised. The trial was conducted against this backdrop of continual commercial change. Despite this difficult operating environment, the trial met its objectives, although not entirely as envisaged initially – a tribute to the determination of the trial’s membership, the strength of its formal governance and management processes, and especially, the financial support of the dti. The equipment on trial featured a central heating/hot water boiler, washing machine, security system, gas alarm and utility meters, all connected to a home gateway, integrated functionally and presented to the users via a single interface. The trial met its principal objective to show that by connecting appliances to each other and to a support system, benefits in remote condition monitoring, maintenance, appliance & home controls optimisation and convenience to the customer & service supplier could be provided. This is one of two main reports that form the trial output (the other, the Multi Home Trial Report, is available to EM Trial members only as it contains commercially sensitive information). A supporting library of documents is also available and is held in the virtual office hosted by Loughborough University Centre for the Integrated Home Environment

Equipment management trial : TAHI summary

The Equipment Management (EM) trial was one of the practical initiatives conceived and implemented by members of The Application Home Initiative (TAHI) with strong support from the DTI, to demonstrate the feasibility of interoperability between white and brown goods, and other domestic equipment. The trial ran from October 2002 to June 2005, over which period it achieved its core objectives through the deployment in early 2005 of an integrated system in trials in 15 occupied homes. Prior to roll out into the field, the work was underpinned by soak testing, validation, laboratory experiments, case studies, user questionnaires, simulations and other research, conducted in a single demonstration home in Loughborough, as well as in Universities in the East Midlands and Scotland. The trial was conducted against a backdrop of continual commercial change. Despite this difficult operating environment, the trial met its objectives, although not entirely as envisaged initially – a tribute to the determination of the trial’s membership, the strength of its formal governance and management processes, and especially, the financial support of the dti. The equipment on trial featured a central heating/hot water boiler, washing machine, security system, gas alarm and utility meters, all connected to a home gateway, integrated functionally and presented to the users via a single interface. The trial met its principal objective to show that by connecting appliances to each other and to a support system, benefits in remote condition monitoring, maintenance, appliance & home controls optimisation and convenience to the customer & service supplier could be provided. The EM trial identified exciting opportunities for the UK’s domestic white and brown goods manufacturing sector. Despite the relative immaturity of some of the enabling technologies people seem interested in the use of smart home devices to improve their quality of life or just generally make things easier at home in their busy schedules. Whilst the enabling technology behind future smart homes is being developed at a rapid pace, it is the intelligent application and integration of this technology that will make the difference to the home consumer. Just because the technology provider can make a ‘useful’ device it does not necessarily mean that the consumer actually wants to buy the ‘new’ invention. The EM trial has successfully shown where certain technology can be deployed successfully and also identified areas where further work is required

Piloting a surveillance system to monitor the global patterns of drug efficacy and the emergence of anthelmintic resistance in soil-transmitted helminth control programs: a Starworms study protocol

To eliminate soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections as a public health problem, the administration of benzimidazole (BZ) drugs to children has recently intensified. But, as drug pressure increases, the development of anthelmintic drug resistance (AR) becomes a major concern. Currently, there is no global surveillance system to monitor drug efficacy and the emergence of AR. Consequently, it is unclear what the current efficacy of the used drugs is and whether AR is already present. The aim of this study is to pilot a global surveillance system to assess anthelmintic drug efficacy and the emergence of AR in STH control programs. For this, we will incorporate drug efficacy trials into national STH control programs of eight countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal and a yet to be defined country in the Americas). In each country, one trial will be performed in one program implementation unit to assess the efficacy of BZ drugs against STHs in school-aged children by faecal egg count reduction test. Stool samples will be collected before and after treatment with BZs for Kato-Katz analysis and preserved to purify parasite DNA. The presence and frequency of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the β-tubulin genes of the different STHs will subsequently be assessed. This study will provide a global pattern of drug efficacy and emergence of AR in STH control programs. The results will provide complementary insights on the validity of known SNPs in the ß-tubulin gene as a marker for AR in human STHs as well as information on the technical and financial resources required to set up a surveillance system. Finally, the collected stool samples will be an important resource to validate different molecular technologies for the detection of AR markers or to identify novel potential molecular markers associated with AR in STH

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Computational Analysis of Phosphopeptide Binding to the Polo-Box Domain of the Mitotic Kinase PLK1 Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK1) acts as a central regulator of mitosis and is over-expressed in a wide range of human tumours where high levels of expression correlate with a poor prognosis. PLK1 comprises two structural elements, a kinase domain and a polo-box domain (PBD). The PBD binds phosphorylated substrates to control substrate phosphorylation by the kinase domain. Although the PBD preferentially binds to phosphopeptides, it has a relatively broad sequence specificity in comparison with other phosphopeptide binding domains. We analysed the molecular determinants of recognition by performing molecular dynamics simulations of the PBD with one of its natural substrates, CDC25c. Predicted binding free energies were calculated using a molecular mechanics, Poisson-Boltzmann surface area approach. We calculated the per-residue contributions to the binding free energy change, showing that the phosphothreonine residue and the mainchain account for the vast majority of the interaction energy. This explains the very broad sequence specificity with respect to other sidechain residues. Finally, we considered the key role of bridging water molecules at the binding interface. We employed inhomogeneous fluid solvation theory to consider the free energy of water molecules on the protein surface with respect to bulk water molecules. Such an analysis highlights binding hotspots created by elimination of water molecules from hydrophobic surfaces. It also predicts that a number of water molecules are stabilized by the presence of the charged phosphate group, and that this will have a significant effect on the binding affinity. Our findings suggest a molecular rationale for the promiscuous binding of the PBD and highlight a role for bridging water molecules at the interface. We expect that this method of analysis will be very useful for probing other protein surfaces to identify binding hotspots for natural binding partners and small molecule inhibitors

Marine mammals exploring the oceans pole to pole

Polar oceans are poorly monitored despite the important role they play in regulating Earth’s climate system. Marine mammals equipped with biologging devices are now being used to fill the data gaps in these logistically difficult to sample regions. Since 2002, instrumented animals have been generating exceptionally large data sets of oceanographic CTD casts (>500,000 profiles), which are now freely available to the scientific community through the MEOP data portal (http://meop.net). MEOP (Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole) is a consortium of international researchers dedicated to sharing animal-derived data and knowledge about the polar oceans. Collectively, MEOP demonstrates the power and cost-effectiveness of using marine mammals as data-collection platforms that can dramatically improve the ocean observing system for biological and physical oceanographers. Here, we review the MEOP program and database to bring it to the attention of the international community.http://www.tos.org/oceanographyam2017Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Evaluation of the effect of sodium–glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibition with empagliflozin on morbidity and mortality of patients with chronic heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction: rationale for and design of the EMPEROR‐Reduced trial

Drugs that inhibit the sodium–glucose co‐transporter 2 (SGLT2) have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalizations for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes. In populations that largely did not have heart failure at the time of enrolment, empagliflozin, canagliflozin and dapagliflozin decreased the risk of serious new‐onset heart failure events by ≈30%. In addition, in the EMPA‐REG OUTCOME trial, empagliflozin reduced the risk of both pump failure and sudden deaths, the two most common modes of death among patients with heart failure. In none of the three trials could the benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors on heart failure be explained by the actions of these drugs as diuretics or anti‐hyperglycaemic agents. These observations raise the possibility that SGLT2 inhibitors could reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with established heart failure, including those without diabetes. The EMPEROR‐Reduced trial is enrolling ≈3600 patients with heart failure and a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (≤ 40%), half of whom are expected not to have diabetes. Patients are being randomized to placebo or empagliflozin 10 mg daily, which is added to all appropriate treatment with inhibitors of the renin–angiotensin system and neprilysin, beta‐blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. The primary endpoint is the time‐to‐first event analysis of the combined risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure, but the trial will also evaluate the effects of empagliflozin on renal function, cardiovascular death, all‐cause mortality, and recurrent hospitalization events. By adjusting eligibility based on natriuretic peptide levels to the baseline ejection fraction, the trial will preferentially enrol high‐risk patients. A large proportion of the participants is expected to have an ejection fraction < 30%, and the estimated annual event rate is expected to be at least 15%. The EMPEROR‐Reduced trial is well‐positioned to determine if the addition of empagliflozin can add meaningfully to current approaches that have established benefits in the treatment of chronic heart failure with left ventricular systolic dysfunction

Evaluation of the effects of sodium–glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibition with empagliflozin on morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction: rationale for and design of the EMPEROR‐Preserved Trial

Background: The principal biological processes that characterize heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are systemic inflammation, epicardial adipose tissue accumulation, coronary microcirculatory rarefaction, myocardial fibrosis and vascular stiffness; the resulting impairment of left ventricular and aortic distensibility (especially when accompanied by impaired glomerular function and sodium retention) causes increases in cardiac filling pressures and exertional dyspnoea despite the relative preservation of left ventricular ejection fraction. Independently of their actions on blood glucose, sodium–glucose co‐transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors exert a broad range of biological effects (including actions to inhibit cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, antagonize sodium retention and improve glomerular function) that can ameliorate the pathophysiological derangements in HFpEF. Such SGLT2 inhibitors exert favourable effects in experimental models of HFpEF and have been found in large‐scale trials to reduce the risk for serious heart failure events in patients with type 2 diabetes, many of whom were retrospectively identified as having HFpEF. Study design: The EMPEROR‐Preserved Trial is enrolling ≈5750 patients with HFpEF (ejection fraction >40%), with and without type 2 diabetes, who are randomized to receive placebo or empagliflozin 10 mg/day, which is added to all appropriate treatments for HFpEF and co‐morbidities. Study aims: The primary endpoint is the time‐to‐first‐event analysis of the combined risk for cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure. The trial will also evaluate the effects of empagliflozin on renal function, cardiovascular death, all‐cause mortality and recurrent hospitalization events, and will assess a wide range of biomarkers that reflect important pathophysiological mechanisms that may drive the evolution of HFpEF. The EMPEROR‐Preserved Trial is well positioned to determine if empagliflozin can have a meaningful impact on the course of HFpEF, a disorder for which there are currently few therapeutic options