Leaf pigments, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, nitrate reductase and photosynthetic efficiency of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir) grown under different light conditions

Changes of leaf pigments, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco), nitrate reductase and photosynthetic efficiency were determined in leaves of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir plants grown at full sunlight (2000 µmol m-2 s-1) and 40 % of sunlight (800 µmol m-2 s-1). The contents of chlorophyll and carotenoids per fresh mass were higher in 40 % sunlight than in full sunlight-grown leaves. In contrast, Rubisco activity, in vivo nitrate reductase activity (indicator of nitrate utilisation) and soluble proteins were significantly reduced in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. In isolated thylakoids, a marked inhibition of whole chain (PSI+PSII) and PSII activity were observed in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. Smaller inhibition of NI activity was also observed in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. The artificial exogenous electron donors, DPC and NH2OH, significantly restored the loss of PSII activity in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves. The same results were obtained when Fv/Fm was evaluated by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. The marked loss of PSII activity in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves was due to the loss of 47, 33, 28-25 and 23 kDa polypeptides. This conclusion was confirmed by immunological studies showing that the content of the 33 kDa protein of the water-splitting complex was diminished significantly in 40 % sunlight-grown leaves.

Bode, C., Helmy, M., & Bertamini, M. (2017). A cross-cultural comparison for preference for symmetry: comparing British and Egyptians non-experts..

The aesthetic appeal of symmetry has been noted and discussed by artists, historians and scientists. To what extent this appeal is universal is a difficult question to answer. From a theoretical perspective, cross-cultural comparisons are important, because similarities would support the universality of the response to symmetry. Some pioneering work has focussed on comparisons between Britain and Egypt (Soueif & Eysenck, 1971, 1972), including both experts and naive subjects. These studies confirmed some degree of universal agreement in preferences for simple abstract symmetry. We revisited this comparison after almost half a century. We compared preferences of naïve students in Egypt (n = 200) and Britain (n= 200) for 6 different classes of symmetry in novel, abstract stimuli. We used three different measurements of complexity: Gif ratio, Edge length and the average cell size (average blob size, ABS). The results support Soueif & Eysenck’s findings regarding preferences for reflectional and rotational symmetry, however they also throw new light on a greater preference for simplicity in Egyptian participants already noted by Soueif & Eysenck (1971)

The integration of local chromatic motion signals is sensitive to contrast polarity

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The anterior bias in visual art: The case of images of animals

none3noneBertamini, Marco*; Bennett, Kate M.; Bode, CaroleBertamini, Marco; Bennett, Kate M.; Bode, Carol

Attractiveness is influenced by the relationship between postures of the viewer and the viewed person

Many factors influence physical attractiveness, including degree of symmetry and relative length of legs. We asked a sample of 112 young adults to rate the attractiveness of computer-generated female bodies that varied in terms of symmetry and leg-to-body ratio. These effects were confirmed. However, we also varied whether the person in the image was shown sitting or standing. Half of the participants were tested standing and the other half sitting. The difference in the posture of the participants increased the perceived attractiveness of the images sharing the same posture, despite the fact that participants were unaware that their posture was relevant for the experiment. We conclude that our findings extend the role of embodied simulation in social cognition to perception of attractiveness from static images

Eye centring in selfies posted on Instagram

Earlier work by one of us examined a historical corpus of portraits and found that artists often paint the subject such that one eye is centred horizontally. If due to psychological mechanisms constraining artistic composition, this eye-centring bias should be detectable also in portraits by non-professionals. However, this finding has been questioned both on theoretical and empirical grounds. Here we tested eye-centring in a larger (N ~ = 4000) and more representative set of selfies spontaneously posted on Instagram from six world cities. In contrast with previous selfie results, the distribution of the most-centred eye position peaked almost exactly at the horizontal centre of the image and was statistically different from predictions based on realistic Monte-Carlo predictions. In addition, we observed a small but statistically reliable pseudoneglect effect as well as a preference for centring the left-eye. An eye-centring tendency appears to exist in self-portraits by non-artists