The Discovery of Trissolcus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in Michigan

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), is a pest of growing economic importance in the United States, the control of which currently relies on pesticide applications. Biological control could provide sustainable and long-term control but classical biological control agents have not yet been approved. Adventive populations of a potential biological control agents, the Samurai wasp, Trissolcus japonicus (Ashmead), have been found in the United States, first in Maryland in 2014, expanding its range west to Ohio by 2017. Trissolcus japonicus is a highly effective parasitoid of H. halys eggs, but its redistribution and augmentative releases are restricted to states where it has been detected in the wild. To assess the presence of T. japonicus in Michigan and attack rates of H. halys by native natural enemies we deployed 189 H. halys egg masses at ten sites in lower Michigan between May and October in 2018. In addition, we deployed 51 native stink bug egg masses at the same sites to evaluate potential non-target effects of T. japonicus in the field, which were shown to occur in laboratory studies. We found T. japonicus in a single H. halys egg mass, which constitutes the first record of this Asian parasitoid in Michigan. Native predators and parasitoids caused minimal mortality of H. halys eggs and we did not find evidence of non-target effects of T. japonicus on native stink bug species. These findings open the door to initiation of a classical biological control program using an efficient, coevolved parasitoid from the native range of H. halys

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

Blinded by beauty: attractiveness bias and accurate perceptions of academic performance

Despite the old adage not to ‘judge a book by its cover’, facial cues often guide first impressions and these first impressions guide our decisions. Literature suggests there are valid facial cues that assist us in assessing someone’s health or intelligence, but such cues are overshadowed by an ‘attractiveness halo’ whereby desirable attributions are preferentially ascribed to attractive people. The impact of the attractiveness halo effect on perceptions of academic performance in the classroom is concerning as this has shown to influence students’ future performance. We investigated the limiting effects of the attractiveness halo on perceptions of actual academic performance in faces of 100 university students. Given the ambiguity and various perspectives on the definition of intelligence and the growing consensus on the importance of conscientiousness over intelligence in predicting actual academic performance, we also investigated whether perceived conscientiousness was a more accurate predictor of academic performance than perceived intelligence. Perceived conscientiousness was found to be a better predictor of actual academic performance when compared to perceived intelligence and perceived academic performance, and accuracy was improved when controlling for the influence of attractiveness on judgments. These findings emphasize the misleading effect of attractiveness on the accuracy of first impressions of competence, which can have serious consequences in areas such as education and hiring. The findings also have implications for future research investigating impression accuracy based on facial stimuli.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The influence of intelligence on the endorsement of the intelligence–attractiveness halo

While some theories emphasize the influence of the ‘attractiveness halo’ on perceptions of intelligence, empirical evidence suggests that perceptions of attractiveness themselves can be influenced by perceptions of other desired traits such as intelligence. In an educational context, the effect of impressions of intelligence on teachers' expectations of students gives them particular significance. Research on kin selection and cognitive biases highlight the possibility that intelligent people endorse the intelligence–attractiveness relationship more strongly than less intelligent people. We investigated how a perceiver's intelligence can influence the association between perceived intelligence and attractiveness of others. We asked 126 participants to rate 48 children's faces for perceived intelligence and attractiveness and then asked them to complete the International Cognitive Ability Resource (ICAR) intelligence test. Ratings by participants who scored higher on the intelligence test showed a stronger relationship between perceptions of intelligence and attractiveness than participants who scored lower on the intelligence test. This effect was significant even after controlling for differences in participants' scale use. These findings, while preliminary, illuminate an individual difference that influences perceptions of intelligence with potentially concerning implications regarding expectancy effects in educational settings.PostprintPeer reviewe

Janzenella theia Bremer & Talamas (Platygastroidea, Janzenellidae): a new species from Baltic amber

A new species, Janzenella theia Bremer & Talamas, sp. nov., is described from Baltic amber, which is the second known species of the family Janzenellidae (Platygastroidea). Synchrotron scanning was performed to observe internal structures and external morphology that was occluded by turbidity in the amber matrix surrounding the specimen

Prevalencia de accidentes punzocortantes en estudiantes de posgrado de odontopediatría en comparación con estudiantes de otros posgrados en México

Introducción: El mayor riesgo de los trabajadores del ámbito de la salud es contraer enfermedades infectocontagiosas por algún accidente de algún objeto punzocortante, por lo cual se deben de tomar ciertas medidas de seguridad, las cuales muchas personas desconocen al igual de los protocolos que se debe de seguir tras un accidente. Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia que existe de accidentes con objetos punzocortantes en los estudiantes del posgrado de odontopediatría y de los estudiantes de otros posgrados en México. Metodología: Se aplicó el instrumento de Registro de Exposición a Punción o Corte EPINet (Exposure Prevention Information Network) a 81 estudiantes de odontopediatría y a 82 estudiantes de otros posgrados. Resultados: Se concluyó que la mayoría de los accidentes punzocortantes (AP) en cantidad y frecuencia lo presentan los odontopediatras en un 86.43%, por lo general se presentan en la unidad dental antes o durante el procedimiento con la jeringa carpule con un 87.14%. Conclusiones: En la actualidad los accidentes punzocortantes están incrementando debido a la falta de conocimiento de las inmunizaciones y de los protocolos a seguir tras un accidente punzocortante. ABSTRACT Introduction: The greatest risk for workers in the health field is to contract infectious diseases due to an accident of a sharp object, so we must take certain safety measures, which many people are unaware of, as well as the protocols that should be followed an accident. Objective: Determine the incidence that exists of accidents with sharp objects in postgraduate students of pediatric dentistry and students of other postgraduate programs in Mexico. Methodology: The Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) instrument was applied to 81 students of pediatric dentistry and 82 to students of other postgraduate programs. Results: It was concluded that the majority of sharps accidents (AP) in quantity and frequency are presented by pediatric dentists in 86.43%, usually presented in the dental unit before or during the procedure with the carpule syringe with 87.14%. Conclusions: Sharp incidents are increasing due to the lack of knowledge of immunization’s and the protocols to follow after a puncture accident

Perceptions of intelligence and the attractiveness halo

Perceptions of intelligence are strongly related to attractiveness and have a significant impact on first impressions. The introductory chapters (1 – 3) provide an overview of the literature on attractiveness, halo effects, and intelligence, while the experimental chapters (4 – 6) explore perceptions of cues to intelligence beyond attractiveness, individual differences in the susceptibility to the halo, and the accuracy of perceptions of competence. Chapter 4 investigated the malleable facial cues of eyelid-openness and mouth curvature and their influence on perceived intelligence. Attractiveness partially mediated intelligence impression, but effects of eyelid-openness and subtle smiling enhanced intelligence ratings independent of attractiveness. These effects were observed and replicated in between individual (cross-sectional) studies of natural images of adult faces, child faces, through digital manipulation of individual cues in the same faces, and in a within individual sleep-restricted sample. Chapter 5 investigated the relationship between perceived intelligence and attractiveness by exploring whether a raters’ own intelligence may be related to a stronger endorsement of the perceived intelligence-attractiveness halo. The correlation between ratings of the perceived intelligence and attractiveness was found to be stronger for participants who scored higher on an intelligence test than participants with lower intelligence test scores. Chapter 6 investigated the limiting effects of attractiveness on perceptions of competence. When statistically controlling for the attractiveness halo, academic performance could be predicted from judgments of conscientiousness but not from ratings of intelligence. Thus this thesis demonstrates that malleable facial cues can influence perceptions of intelligence independent of attractiveness, identifies an individual difference that influences endorsement of the intelligence-attractiveness halo, and shows the limiting effects of the attractiveness halo on potentially accurate perceptions of academic performance. Collectively these findings provide evidence of the powerful influence of attractiveness on perceptions of intelligence; such work is necessary if we are to mitigate such bias