Fertility status in visual processing of men's attractiveness

Physical characteristics are visually salient information that display an insight into a potential mate's immunocompetence, status, and reproductive potential (Djikstra & Bunk, 2001; Dixson, Grimshaw, Ornsby, & Dixson, 2014; Lasek & Gaulin, 2009; Singh, 1994). In men, characteristics such as a v-shaped torso and body hair are often a desired characteristic by women because it displays men's upper body strength and hormonal levels. Recently, the use of eye tracking in attraction research has demonstrated that visual patterns are behavioral indices of interest to a potential mate. Two studies investigated visual perception of men's attractiveness across different phases of the menstrual cycle (i.e., Low vs. High Fertility). In study 1 (N = 83), men with low (0.7) waist to chest ratios were rated as more attractive, and women focused most of their visual attention to the upper region of the body (i.e., head & midriff). Study 2, (N = 44) replicated the findings from study 1 and found support for visual differences across the menstrual cycle using progesterone. Women viewed the head region (i.e., face) longer and took more time viewing men in general during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle (low progesterone) compared to the non-fertile phase (high progesterone). The findings add to the existing literature on visual perception and attraction, and they contribute new findings in determining differences in visual perception across the menstrual cycle in women

Hormonal influences on attraction and visual attention to facial masculinity

Differences in reproductive success caused by competition within and between the sexes have resulted in selective pressures in females to favor specific features in males. Research on women's mate preferences has indicated that women often prefer men that display masculine physical characteristics, likely due to masculinity's association with immunocompetence, resource acquisition, and protection. Traditionally, studies have incorporated a forced choice rating (2afc) where women choose a preference towards a feminine or masculine male face. Findings have consistently shown that masculine faces are preferred and considered attractive, but the hormonal underpinnings of these preferences have been mixed. The current study investigated the ovulatory shift hypothesis, which suggests that women prefer masculine men during peak fertility. The current study used an eye tracking paradigm to measuring women's visual attention to facial masculinity across the menstrual cycle. Estradiol (E) and progesterone (P) were collected to determine if salivary biomarkers influence visual attention to masculine faces during peak fertility in a short- and long-term mating context. Women (N = 81) provided saliva samples at three time points throughout their menstrual cycle and were asked to rate and view men's faces that had been manipulated to appear feminine and masculine. Overall, masculine faces were viewed longer compared to feminine faces and this was dependent upon mating context, where women viewed masculine faces longer for a long-term relationship. There was not any evidence suggesting that peak fertility (i.e., high E/P ratio) was associated with viewing facial masculinity, but there was evidence to suggest that hormones were associated with visual attention to men in general. Additionally, women's self-perceived mate value played a significant role in the amount of visual attention displayed to facial masculinity, demonstrating higher visual time to masculine faces as women's self-perceived mate value increased. In line with sexual strategies theory, there was evidence to suggest that mating context, facial masculinity, and mate value are important in mate choice; however, there was no evidence to suggest that women's mate choice was dependent upon fertility status

Sex Differences in Physical Attractiveness

This chapter provides an overview of the literature on the sex differences in physical attractiveness, and how it influences mate choice. More specifically, it investigates evolutionary perspectives on men and women’s preferences for physical traits, such as ideal breast features in women, and masculine physical traits (i.e., muscularity, broad shoulders) in men. The chapter focuses on conditional (i.e., ecological/environmental) roles on mate preferences, in addition to examining possible individual differences, such as mate value. The chapter covers the following: (1) An overview of sex differences in attractiveness, including theoretical explanations, (2) A broad focus on women’s ideal preferences, (3) A broad focus on men’s ideal preferences, and (4) A discussion on conditional factors and individual differences influencing preferences for ideal traits

Effective contact of cattle and feral swine facilitating potential foot-and-mouth disease virus transmission in southern Texas, USA rangeland

For the second study, a web-based survey was developed and distributed to all members of four major health education organizations. A total of 1,925 HEs’ completed the survey and 1,607 responses were utilized in the final analysis. This study indicated that participants had deficient knowledge and unfavorable attitudes toward the CDCproposed genomic competencies. In the third study, a theoretical model was developed to predict HEs’ likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice. Using techniques from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the model was tested with the same data of the second study. Findings supported the proposed theoretical model. While genomic knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy were significantly associated with HEs’ likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice, attitudes was the strongest predictor of likelihood. In summary, these studies indicated that participating HEs had deficient genomic knowledge, unfavorable attitudes toward a set of CDC-proposed genomic competencies, and low likelihood to adopt genomic competencies into health promotion. Relevant training should be developed and advocated. As the SEM analysis results indicated the survey findings supported the proposed theoretical model, which can be utilized to steer future training for HEs. statistics, 2) unadjusted inferential statistics, 3) stratified analysis, and 4) multivariable models. My investigation produced results in accord with generally accepted notions in addition to significant findings that interestingly counter current preconceptions. Intraspecies contact was more common than inter-species, with indirect contact occurring more frequently than direct. Direct contact between species occurred extremely rarely. The most important factors that influenced the rate of contact for both species were water, winter, and cultivated fields. Information regarding probability of infectious agent survival and transfer will be used in the future to advance current epidemiological models, including geographicautomata (Ward et al. 2007: In Press) and cellular automata models (Doran and Laffan 2005) to better understand and manage integrated domestic cattle and free-ranging wildlife populations. Such modeling provides essential and necessary knowledge for developing prevention, detection, response, and recovery strategies – employed in advance, during, and after a disease outbreak, respectively

Extended duration lunar lander

Selenium Technologies has been conducting preliminary design work on a manned lunar lander for use in NASA's First Lunar Outpost (FLO) program. The resulting lander is designed to carry a crew of four astronauts to a prepositioned habitat on the lunar surface, remain on the lunar surface for up to 45 days while the crew is living in the habitat, then return the crew to earth via direct reentry and land recovery. Should the need arise, the crew can manually guide the lander to a safe lunar landing site, and live in the lander for up to ten days on the surface. Also, an abort to earth is available during any segment of the mission. The main propulsion system consists of a cluster of four modified Pratt and Whitney RL10 rocket engines that use liquid methane (LCH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX). Four engines are used to provide redundancy and a satisfactory engine out capability. Differences between the new propulsion system and the original system include slightly smaller engine size and lower thrust per engine, although specific impulse remains the same despite the smaller size. Concerns over nozzle ground clearance and engine reliability, as well as more information from Pratt and Whitney, brought about this change. The power system consists of a combination of regenerative fuel cells and solar arrays. While the lander is in flight to or from the moon, or during the lunar night, fuel cells provide all electrical power. During the lunar day, solar arrays are deployed to provide electrical power for the lander as well as electrolyzers, which separate some water back into hydrogen and oxygen for later use by the fuel cells. Total storage requirements for oxygen, hydrogen, and water are 61 kg, 551 kg, and 360 kg, respectively. The lander is a stage-and-a-half design with descent propellant, cargo, and landing gear contained in the descent stage, and the main propulsion system, ascent propellant, and crew module contained in the ascent stage. The primary structure for both stages is a truss, to which all tanks and components are attached. The crew module is a conical shape similar to that of the Apollo Command Module, but significantly larger with a height and maximum diameter of six meters

A Randomized Controlled Multicenter US Food and Drug Administration Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of the Minerva Endometrial Ablation System: One-Year Follow-Up Results

AbstractStudy ObjectiveTo assess the safety and effectiveness of the Minerva Endometrial Ablation System for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in premenopausal women.DesignMulticenter, randomized, controlled, international study (Canadian Task Force classification I).SettingThirteen academic and private medical centers.PatientsPremenopausal women (n = 153) suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding (PALM-COEIN: E, O).InterventionPatients were treated using the Minerva Endometrial Ablation System or rollerball ablation.Measurements and Main ResultsAt 1-year post-treatment, study success (alkaline hematin ≤80 mL) was observed in 93.1% of Minerva subjects and 80.4% of rollerball subjects with amenorrhea reported by 71.6% and 49% of subjects, respectively. The mean procedure times were 3.1 minutes for Minerva and 17.2 minutes for rollerball. There were no intraoperative adverse events and/or complications reported.ConclusionThe results of this multicenter randomized controlled trial demonstrate that at the 12-month follow-up, the Minerva procedure produces statistically significantly higher rates of success, amenorrhea, and patient satisfaction as well as a shorter procedure time when compared with the historic criterion standard of rollerball ablation. Safety results were excellent and similar for both procedures

The carriage of interleukin-1B-31*C allele plus Staphylococcus aureus and Haemophilus influenzae increases the risk of recurrent tonsillitis in a Mexican population

Abstract The aim of the present study was to estimate the relative contribution of immunogenetic and microbiological factors in the development of recurrent tonsillitis in a Mexican population. Patients (n = 138) with recurrent tonsillitis and an indication of tonsillectomy (mean age: 6.05 years±3.00; median age: 5 years, female: 58; age range: 1–15 years) and 195 nonrelated controls older than 18 years and a medical history free of recurrent tonsillitis were included. To evaluate the microbial contribution, tonsil swab samples from both groups and extracted tonsil samples from cases were cultured. Biofilm production of isolated bacteria was measured. To assess the immunogenetic component, DNA from peripheral blood was genotyped for the TNFA-308G/A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and for the IL1B -31C/T SNP. Normal microbiota, but no pathogens or potential pathogens, were identified from all control sample cultures. The most frequent pathogenic species detected in tonsils from cases were Staphylococcus aureus (48.6%, 67/138) and Haemophilus influenzae (31.9%, 44/138), which were found more frequently in patient samples than in samples from healthy volunteers (P<0.0001). Importantly, 41/54 (75.9%) S. aureus isolates were biofilm producers (18 weak and 23 strong), whereas 17/25 (68%) H. influenzae isolates were biofilm producers (10 weak, and 7 strong biofilm producers). Patients with at least one copy of the IL1B-31*C allele had a higher risk of recurrent tonsillitis (OR = 4.03; 95% CI = 1.27– 14.27; P = 0.013). TNFA-308 G/A alleles were not preferentially distributed among the groups. When considering the presence of IL1B-31*C plus S. aureus, IL1B-31*C plus S. aureus biofilm producer, IL1B-31*C plus H. influenzae or IL1B-31*C plus H. influenzae biofilm producer, the OR tended to infinite. Thus, the presence of IL1B-31*C allele plus the presence of S. aureus and/or H. influenzae could be related to the development of tonsillitis in this particular Mexican population

Polybrene Inhibits Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation during Lentiviral Transduction

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can be engineered to express specific genes, either for their use in cell-based therapies or to track them in vivo over long periods of time. To obtain long-term expression of these genes, a lentivirus- or retrovirus-mediated cell transduction is often used. However, given that the efficiency with these viruses is typically low in primary cells, additives such as polybrene are always used for efficient viral transduction. Unfortunately, as presented here, exposure to polybrene alone at commonly used concentratons (1–8 µg/mL) negatively impacts hMSC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner as measured by CyQUANT, EdU incorporation, and cell cycle analysis. This inhibition of proliferation was observable in culture even 3 weeks after exposure. Culturing the cells in the presence of FGF-2, a potent mitogen, did not abrogate this negative effect of polybrene. In fact, the normally sharp increase in hMSC proliferation that occurs during the first days of exposure to FGF-2 was absent at 4 µg/mL or higher concentrations of polybrene. Similarly, the effect of stimulating cell proliferation under simulated hypoxic conditions was also decreased when cells were exposed to polybrene, though overall proliferation rates were higher. The negative influence of polybrene was, however, reduced when the cells were exposed to polybrene for a shorter period of time (6 hr vs 24 hr). Thus, careful evaluation should be done when using polybrene to aid in lentiviral transduction of human MSCs or other primary cells, especially when cell number is critical

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Treatment Planning and Volumetric Response Assessment for Yttrium-90 Radioembolization: Semiautomated Determination of Liver Volume and Volume of Tumor Necrosis in Patients with Hepatic Malignancy

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study was to demonstrate intraobserver/interobserver reproducibility for novel semiautomated measurements of hepatic volume used for Yttrium-90 dose calculations as well as whole-liver and necrotic-liver (hypodense/nonenhancing) tumor volume after radioembolization. The secondary aim was to provide initial comparisons of tumor volumetric measurements with linear measurements, as defined by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors criteria, and survival outcomes.MethodsBetween 2006 and 2009, 23 consecutive radioembolization procedures were performed for 14 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma and 9 cases of hepatic metastases. Baseline and follow-up computed tomography obtained 1 month after treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Three observers measured liver, whole-tumor, and tumor-necrosis volumes twice using semiautomated software.ResultsGood intraobserver/interobserver reproducibility was demonstrated (intraclass correlation [ICC] &gt; 0.9) for tumor and liver volumes. Semiautomated measurements of liver volumes were statistically similar to those obtained with manual tracing (ICC = 0.868), but they required significantly less time to perform (p &lt; 0.0001, ICC = 0.088). There was a positive association between change in linear tumor measurements and whole-tumor volume (p &lt; 0.0001). However, linear measurements did not correlate with volume of necrosis (p &gt; 0.05). Dose, change in tumor diameters, tumor volume, and necrotic volume did not correlate with survival (p &gt; 0.05 in all instances). However, Kaplan-Meier curves suggest that a &gt;10% increase in necrotic volume correlated with survival (p = 0.0472).ConclusionSemiautomated volumetric analysis of liver, whole-tumor, and tumor-necrosis volume can be performed with good intraobserver/interobserver reproducibility. In this small retrospective study, measurements of tumor necrosis were suggested to correlate with survival