A greater decline in female facial attractiveness during middle age reflects women’s loss of reproductive value

Facial attractiveness represents an important component of an individual’s overall attractiveness as a potential mating partner. Perceptions of facial attractiveness are expected to vary with age-related changes in health, reproductive value, and power. In this study, we investigated perceptions of facial attractiveness, power, and personality in two groups of women of pre- and post-menopausal ages (35–50 years and 51–65 years, respectively) and two corresponding groups of men. We tested three hypotheses: (1) that perceived facial attractiveness would be lower for older than for younger men and women; (2) that the age-related reduction in facial attractiveness would be greater for women than for men; and (3) that for men, there would be a larger increase in perceived power at older ages. Eighty facial stimuli were rated by 60 (30 male, 30 female) middle-aged women and men using online surveys. Our three main hypotheses were supported by the data. Consistent with sex differences in mating strategies, the greater age-related decline in female facial attractiveness was driven by male respondents, while the greater age-related increase in male perceived power was driven by female respondents. In addition, we found evidence that some personality ratings were correlated with perceived attractiveness and power ratings. The results of this study are consistent with evolutionary theory and with previous research showing that faces can provide important information about characteristics that men and women value in a potential mating partner such as their health, reproductive value, and power or possession of resources

Words fail me: the verbal IQ deficit in inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome

Background: Many chronic illnesses are accompanied by impaired cognitive functioning. In people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), there is some research to suggest a decrement in verbal IQ (VIQ), when compared to people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and healthy controls. Although this is an important finding, it is necessary to ensure that such deficits are not due to methodological problems such as the failure to take into account pre-morbid functioning. Methods: A total of 88 people (IBD, N 29; IBS, N 29; Controls, N 30) completed the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WATR), the Trait Rumination Questionnaire (TRQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results: We found evidence of a VIQ decrement in both IBD and IBS groups when measured against both healthy controls and against their own pre-morbid IQ scores (WTAR-Predicted WAIS-III IQ measures). However, the decrement was larger (and of clinical significance) in the IBD group but not in the IBS group. Conclusion: Some tentative evidence is presented which suggests that poor VIQ performance may be due in part to interference from excessive rumination

Contralateral force irradiation for the activation of tibialis anterior muscle in carriers of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease: effect of PNF intervention program

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a resposta do músculo tibial anterior (TA) após um protocolo de cinco semanas com irradiação contralateral de força através de diagonais de facilitação neuromuscular proprioceptiva (FNP) em pacientes com polineuropatia desmielinizante associada à doença de Charcot-Marie-Tooth do tipo 1A (CMT-1A). MÉTODOS: Participaram deste estudo 12 pacientes, de ambos os sexos. Eles foram tratados em uma frequência de duas vezes por semana, durante cinco semanas. Em cada sessão, foram utilizadas as diagonais de Chopping, extensão-adução com rotação interna (EARI) e flexão-abdução com rotação interna (FARI). As diagonais foram repetidas quatro vezes, em ambos os membros superiores e inferiores; cada diagonal tinha duração média de 6 segundos. Durante as execuções, a resposta muscular do TA foi registrada por um eletromiógrafo de superfície, desprezando-se os 2 segundos iniciais e finais de cada diagonal. A média dos valores de Root Mean Square (RMS) das quatro repetições foi normalizada em porcentagem. Os dados iniciais e finais foram submetidos ao teste em t para amostras pareadas com valores de p significativos <0,05. RESULTADOS: A irradiação de força contralateral, através da diagonal de Chopping à direita e à esquerda, aumentou os valores de RMS em porcentagem do músculo TA na última sessão quando comparados com os valores da primeira sessão (t=-3,94) e (t=-3,87), respectivamente. Na mesma direção, a diagonal EARI aumentou os valores de RMS em porcentagem do músculo TA na última sessão quando comparados com os valores da primeira sessão (t=-3,3) e (t=-4,58), respectivamente. A única diagonal que não produziu valores maiores de irradiação de força contralateral nos músculos TA direito e esquerdo foi a diagonal FARI (t=-2,31) e (t=-1,55). CONCLUSÃO: Esses resultados podem justificar a utilização de um programa de tratamento através de diagonais de FNP em portadores de CMT-1A que possuam dificuldades na ativação do músculo TA.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the response of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle following a five-week protocol with contralateral irradiation force through Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) diagonals in patients with demyelinating polyneuropathy associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT-1A). METHODS: The study included 12 patients of both sexes. They were treated twice-weekly for 5 weeks. At each session, they performed the following diagonal patterns: chopping, extension-adduction with internal rotation (EAIR) and flexion-abduction with internal rotation (FAIR). The diagonals were repeated four times, in both upper and lower limbs, with each repetition lasting six seconds on average. During execution, the response of the TA muscle was recorded by a surface electromyograph disregarding the initial and final two seconds of each diagonal. The mean RMS values of the four repetitions were normalized in percentage. The initial and final data were analyzed through the t test for paired samples with significant p-values <0.05. RESULTS: The contralateral force irradiation with the chopping diagonal to the left and to the right increased the percentage RMS values of the TA muscle in the last session when compared with the values of the first session (t=-3.94 and t=-3.87, respectively). Similarly, the EAIR diagonal increased the percentage RMS values of the TA muscle in the last session when compared with the values of the first session (t=-3.3 and t=-4.58, respectively). The only diagonal that did not produce higher values of contralateral force irradiation in the TA muscle, left and right, was the FAIR (t=-2.31 and t=-1.55). CONCLUSION: These results may justify the use of a treatment program with PNF diagonals in patients with CMT-1A who have difficulty activating the TA muscle.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)edital Genética Clinic

Gender-specific effects of HIV protease inhibitors on body mass in mice

Protease inhibitors, as part of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), have significantly increased the lifespan of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. Several deleterious side effects including dyslipidemia and lipodystrophy, however, have been observed with HAART. Women are at a higher risk of developing adipose tissue alterations and these alterations have different characteristics as compared to men. We have previously demonstrated that in mice the HIV protease inhibitor, ritonavir, caused a reduction in weight gain in females, but had no effect on male mice. In the present study, we examined the potential causes of this difference in weight gain. Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) null mice or wild-type C57BL/6 mice, were administered 15 mug/ml ritonavir or vehicle (0.01% ethanol) in the drinking water for 6 weeks. The percent of total body weight gained during the treatment period was measured and confirmed that female LDL-R gained significantly less weight with ritonavir treatment than males. In wild type mice, however, there was no effect of ritonavir treatment in either sex. Despite the weight loss in LDL-R null mice, ritonavir increased food intake, but no difference was observed in gonadal fat weight. Serum leptin levels were significantly lower in females. Ritonavir further suppressed leptin levels in (p \u3c 0.05). Ritonavir did not alter serum adiponectin levels in either gender. To determine the source of these differences, female mice were ovariectomized remove the gonadal sex hormones. Ovariectomy prevented the weight loss induced by ritonavir (p \u3c 0.05). Furthermore, leptin levels were no longer suppressed by ritonavir (p \u3c 0.05). This study demonstrates that gonadal factors in females influence the hormonal control of weight gain changes induced by HIV protease inhibitors in an environment of elevated cholesterol

Matrix-analytic methods for the evolution of species trees, gene trees, and their reconciliation

We consider the reconciliation problem, in which the task is to find a mapping of a gene tree into a species tree, so as to maximize the likelihood of such fitting, given the available data. We describe a model for the evolution of the species tree, a subfunctionalisation model for the evolution of the gene tree, and provide an algorithm to compute the likelihood of the reconciliation. We derive our results using the theory of matrix-analytic methods and describe efficient algorithms for the computation of a range of useful metrics. We illustrate the theory with examples and provide the physical interpretations of the discussed quantities, with a focus on the practical applications of the theory to incomplete data

Cultural Participation: A Survey about Arts & Cultural Activities on Chicago’s South Side

Each year our graduate research class at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy undertakes a project to address a major issue in cultural policy. In 2013, our project was locally-based, but focused on an issue with global implications: charting the multiple and varied ways that people are now engaging in cultural activities and experiences beyond the focus in recent decades on arts attendance at established cultural venues. Conducted periodically since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts’ Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) serves as the preeminent source of arts participation data in the US. Historically, the most widely reported summary statistic from the SPPA has been attendance at the seven benchmark arts events.1 The 2008 SPPA found that only 34.6 percent of American adults had attended any benchmark arts performance or exhibit in the preceding 12 months. This finding, along with the general downward trend in attendance across all art forms and among all age cohorts, sent shock waves through the cultural community of artists, arts professionals, audiences and supporters. And the persistent finding that the majority of cultural attenders tend to be white, well-educated, and older than the median age of Americans was also cause for concern and questioning. New questions have subsequently arisen about the nature of arts and cultural participation: What arts experiences are most relevant to people’s daily lives? Through what means and in what settings do people feel that they are participating in creative or cultural activity? Does the SPPA adequately capture these activities? Such issues about the extent and scope of cultural participation are now being addressed in countries around the world. A 2012 UNESCO study compiled the kinds of survey questions that are now being asked internationally, including “did you go to a library, attend the cinema, or play videogames in the past 12 months?” “How often do you read books, newspapers, magazines, or listen to the radio?” “How often, if ever, have you taken photographs, or made videos or movies?; played a musical instrument, sung, acted or danced?) [UNESCO 2012]. Increasingly, arts are not perceived as a luxury, but as an inherent cultural right to self-expression and community participation (Ivey 2008). Acts of individual creative expression, as well as attendance, are vital aspects of a healthy arts ecology. Our project to investigate the ways and means by which individuals participate in arts and cultural experiences took shape as a pilot project in Chicago’s South Side community, where the University of Chicago is located. With the help of the University-sponsored South Side Arts and Humanities Network, we brought a local focus to the questions of: What “counts” as cultural participation? How often do people participate? What are the physical and social contexts for participation? How and why do people participate in the way they do Ten cultural organizations of varying sizes and membership, all of which actively engage people in a range of cultural activities and experiences, agreed to participate in our pilot study. Our students conducted interviews with staff and volunteer members of South Side arts and cultural organizations on the topic of cultural participation, then developed and conducted an online survey to gauge what kinds of cultural participation take place in this local context. Although our sample of respondents is an online convenience sample, not representative of the South Side as a whole, it does allow analysis of participation patterns within our sample of 263 respondents. It also generates a snapshot view of our local cultural landscape that can be used to encourage researchers and policymakers to think much more expansively about what cultural participation in the 21st century means. The opportunity to address the question of “what’s happening culturally?” in our local neighborhood proved inspiring, particularly at this time when the latest 2012 NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts results are forthcoming. In conjunction with the NEA’s recent efforts to energize research to understand arts and cultural engagement, we present our survey results and report with the hope that it can make a contribution to a new and broadened understanding of cultural participation. Jennifer Novak-Leonard and Betty Farrell Instructors, PPHA 39703 Harris School of Public Policy, The University of Chicago March 201

Development of a training programme for primary care mental health staff to support management of depression and anxiety in long-term conditions

Aim: We aimed to develop, deliver and evaluate a brief training programme for primary care mental health staff in NW London focussing on long-term physical health conditions (LTCs). The objective was to improve participants’ knowledge, understanding and confidence (self-efficacy) in providing effective support to people with LTCs. The second objective was to develop an online version to be made available more widely. Background: The project was commissioned by NW London Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups as part of a strategy to develop more joined up care and support for people with mental health needs. Training was developed by a team of experts, with input from commissioners, service users, clinicians and service managers. Methods: Training was delivered via two-day interactive workshops providing: (i) key facts (informed by a review of published research and publically available health information); (ii) opportunity to engage with the ‘lived experience’ of people with LTCs (via videos, role plays, case studies and group discussion); (iii) skills-based training (in specific assessment and intervention methods). Knowledge, understanding and confidence (with respect to supporting people with LTCs) were assessed at the start and end of the training. An online training programme (with embedded evaluation questionnaire) was also developed, covering the same themes as the workshop. Findings: Mental health staff (n=60) reported limited knowledge, understanding and confidence before the workshop, underlining the need for training. Knowledge of LTCs improved significantly following training (P<0.0001), along with awareness of the impact of poor psychological wellbeing on physical health (P<0.05) and the role of psychological therapies in supporting people with LTCs (P<0.0001). Self-efficacy also improved (P<0.001). Online training was accessed by 894 participants in the first six months and 187 provided feedback via the evaluation questionnaire. Responses indicated that participants found the training useful (88%), interesting (91%) and easy to understand (97%)