Male facial cues to physical strength in Europe: Medium-strength preference and higher aggressiveness attribution to the weakest

OBJECTIVES

The capacity to assess male physical strength from facial cues may be adaptive given health and fitness-related associations with muscular strength. Our study complements recent research on strength-related face perceptions of male Maasai by applying the protocol to male European faces and assessors.

METHODS

Five distinct facial morphs calibrated for handgrip strength (HGS) were manufactured with geometric morphometrics performing regressions of the Procrustes shape coordinates on HGS in a sample of 26 European men (18-32 years). Young adult men and women (n = 445) rated these morphs on physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness.

RESULTS

Facial morphs calibrated to lower HGS were rated as less strong, less attractive, and more aggressive than those calibrated to higher HGS. Medium levels of HGS were associated with the highest attractiveness ratings.

CONCLUSIONS

The rating patterns of physical strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness for European male facial morphs exhibit similarity to previous ratings of Maasai male faces. Therefore, the current findings corroborate the suggestion of a common mechanism for social attributions based on facial cues to physical strength, modulated by local ecology and societal context.

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.

Perception of strength, attractiveness and aggressiveness of Maasai male faces calibrated to handgrip strength: Evidence from a European sample

OBJECTIVES

Previous research showed that male and female members of the Maasai from Northern Tanzania judge images of facial morphs calibrated to greater handgrip strength (HGS) higher on strength and attractiveness, but lower on aggressiveness than those calibrated to lower HGS. The accurate assessment of male physical strength from facial information may be adaptive as suggested by the evidence on health and fitness-related benefits linked to high muscular strength.

METHODS

This study extends previous work by obtaining European female (n = 220) and male (n = 51) assessments of HGS-calibrated Maasai male faces. Participants rated five facial morphs for strength, attractiveness, and aggressiveness on computer screens.

RESULTS

Perceived physical strength increased with morphs calibrated to higher HGS. The lowest and highest HGS morphs were judged lower in attractiveness than the others, and rated aggressiveness decreased in morphs calibrated to higher HGS.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the high similarity between the current study findings and those previously reported from intra-population assessments of Maasai faces calibrated to HGS, we suggest that strength and aggressiveness perceptions of facial features associated with male physical strength may be universal. Attractiveness assessments of strength-related information in the faces of (very) strong men were less consistent across populations, possibly attributable to cultural and ecological contexts.

Adaptability of Bony Armor Elements of the Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae): Ecological and Evolutionary Insights from Symmetry Analyses

Differentiation in the defensive armor of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is caused by predator-driven divergent selection. Most studies considered armor traits related to swimming behavior, hence combining pre- and post-capture responses to gape-limited predators. Here, we focus exclusively on the defensive complex (DC), the post-capture predator defense. This complex consists of a series of bony elements surrounding the anterior part of the abdomen. Relaxation from predation pressure not only drives reduction of bony elements but is also expected to increase asymmetry in the DC. To test this hypothesis, we used four Austrian freshwater populations that differed distinctly in the formation of the DC. We found significant left–right asymmetries in the DC in the population with a distinctly reduced DC and, surprisingly, also in the population with a significantly enhanced DC. These populations occur in vastly different habitats (stream and lake) characterized by distinct regimes of gape-limited predators (none vs. many). Apparently, both a shift to very low and very high pressure by gape-limited predators can boost asymmetry. We conclude that greater asymmetries in the two populations at the opposite ends of the predatory gradient result from an ongoing process of adaptation to decreased or increased environmental stress.

Thirty years of geometric morphometrics: Achievements, challenges, and the ongoing quest for biological meaningfulness

The foundations of geometric morphometrics were worked out about 30 years ago and have continually been refined and extended. What has remained as a central thrust and source of debate in the morphometrics community is the shared goal of meaningful biological inference through a tight connection between biological theory, measurement, multivariate biostatistics, and geometry. Here we review the building blocks of modern geometric morphometrics: the representation of organismal geometry by landmarks and semilandmarks, the computation of shape or form variables via superimposition, the visualization of statistical results as actual shapes or forms, the decomposition of shape variation into symmetric and asymmetric components and into different spatial scales, the interpretation of various geometries in shape or form space, and models of the association between shape or form and other variables, such as environmental, genetic, or behavioral data. We focus on recent developments and current methodological challenges, especially those arising from the increasing number of landmarks and semilandmarks, and emphasize the importance of thorough exploratory multivariate analyses rather than single scalar summary statistics. We outline promising directions for further research and for the evaluation of new developments, such as "landmark-free" approaches. To illustrate these methods, we analyze three-dimensional human face shape based on data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

Handgrip strength and 2D : 4D in women: homogeneous samples challenge the (apparent) gender paradox

The length ratio between the second and the fourth digit (2D : 4D) is a retrospective, non-invasive biomarker for prenatal androgen exposure. It was found to be negatively correlated with handgrip strength (HGS) in men, but the evidence for women is mixed. Such studies in women call for increased detection sensitivity. The present study was designed to reduce potential confounding factors, especially age and ethnicity variation. We measured the digit ratios and HGS of 125 healthy women between 19 and 31 years of age from a remote region in Austria. 2D : 4D of both hands was significantly and negatively correlated with HGS (n = 125, right hand: r = -0.255, p = 0.002, left hand: r = -0.206, p = 0.011). Size, direction and significance of correlation coefficients remained stable when statistically controlling for age, body weight, body height, body mass index or hours of exercise per week. This yields theory-consistent evidence that HGS and 2D : 4D are clearly associated in women-when sufficiently reducing genetic variation (confounding 2D : 4D), the ontogenetic environment and age ranges (confounding HGS) in the study population. This finding implies similar organizing effects of prenatal androgens as in men, pointing to a more parsimonious developmental mechanism and a new look into its proximate and ultimate causes.

Tubulin-folding cofactor E deficiency is associated with vascular dysfunction and endoplasmatic reticulum stress of vascular smooth muscle cells

Introduction

Endothelial function assessed via flow mediated dilatation (FMD) has shown to predict risk in individuals with established cardiovascular diseases, whereas its predictive value is uncertain in the setting primary prevention.

Purpose

The aim of the current work was to discover and evaluate novel mediators of vascular dysfunction in the general population and in conditional knock-out transgenic animal models.

Methods

In order to identify novel targets that were negatively correlated with FMD and investigate their contribution in vascular function, a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) of 5,000 participants was performed and subsequently immune cell-, endothelial- and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMCs)-targeted conditional knockout mouse models were generated and characterized.

Results

GWAS analysis revealed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the tubulin folding cofactor E (TBCE) gene were negatively correlated with FMD and TBCE expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Myelomonocytic cell-targeted TBCE deficiency did not lead to any vascular dysfunction in vivo in the LysM+Cre+/−TBCEfl/fl mice. Endothelial-targeted TBCE deficiency led to an NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3)-dependent activation of the inflammasome in the endothelial cells of Tie2-ERT2Cre+/−TBCEfl/fl mice. Importantly, VSMC-targeted TBCE deficiency was associated with endothelial dysfunction, increased aortic wall thickness and endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated VSMC hyperproliferation in vivo (SMMHC-ERT2Cre+/−TBCEfl/fl), paralleled by calnexin upregulation. Administration of the blood pressure hormone angiotensin II exacerbated the vascular dysfunction and phenotype. Administration of the ER stress modulator tauroursodeoxycholic acid to the SMMHC-ERT2Cre+/−TBCEfl/fl mice reversed vascular dysfunction, paralleled by induction of Raptor/Beclin-1-dependent autophagy both in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusion

TBCE and tubulin homeostasis in the vascular musculature seem to be novel markers of vascular function and represent a new druggable target for the treatment of ER-stress-mediated vascular dysfunction.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by grants of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF01EO1003 and BMBF01EO1503), the DFG Major Research Instrumentation Programme (DFG INST 371/47-1 FUGG) as well as the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. PW received funds from the German Research Foundation in support of his work (DFG WE4361-4-1 and WE 4361/7-1). KS, TM and PW are PIs of the DZHK.

Predictors and prognosis of RV function in pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

Background and aims

Failure of right ventricular (RV) function worsens outcome in pulmonary hypertension (PH). The adaptation of RV contractility to afterload, the RV-pulmonary artery (PA) coupling, is defined by the ratio of RV end-systolic to PA elastances (Ees/Ea). Using pressure volume loop (PV-L) technique we aimed to identify an Ees/Ea cutoff predictive for overall survival and to assess hemodynamic and morphologic conditions for adapted RV function in secondary PH due to Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFREF).

Methods

This post hoc analysis is based on 112 patients of the prospective Magdeburger Resynchronization Responder Trial. All patients underwent right and left heart echocardiography, and a baseline PV-L and RV catheter measurement. A subgroup of patients (n=50) without a pre-implanted cardiac device underwent MRI at baseline.

Results

The analysis revealed that 0.68 is an optimal Ees/Ea cutoff (area under the curve: 0.697, p<0.001) predictive for overall survival (median follow up = 4.7 years, Ees/Ea ≥0.68 vs. <0.68, log-rank 8.9, p=0.003. In patients with PH (n=76, 68%) Multivariate Cox-regression demonstrated the independent prognostic value of RV-Ees/Ea in PH patients (HR 0.2, p<0.038). Patients without PH (n=36, 32%) and those with PH but RV-Ees/Ea ≥0.68 showed comparable RV-Ees/Ea ratios (0.88 vs. 0.9, p=0.39), RV size/function, and survival. In contrast, secondary PH with RV-PA coupling ratio Ees/Ea <0.68 corresponded extremely close to cut-off values that define RV dilatation/remodeling (RVEDV >160ml, RV-mass/volume-ratio <0.37 g/ml) and dysfunction (RVEF <38%, TAPSE <16mm, FAC <42%, and stroke-volume/end-systolic volume ratio <0.59) and is associated with a dramatically increased short and medium-term all-cause mortality. Independent predictors of prognostically unfavorable RV-PA coupling (Ees/Ea <0.68) in secondary PH were a preexistent dilated RV (end-diastolic volume >171ml, odds ratio, OR 0.96, p=0.021), high pulsatile load (PA compliance <2.3 ml/mmHg, OR 8.6, p=0.003), and advanced systolic left heart failure (left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction <30%, OR 1.23, p=0.028).

Conclusions

The RV-PA coupling ratio Ees/Ea predicts overall survival in PH due to HFREF and is mainly affected by pulsatile load, RV remodeling and LV dysfunction. Prognostically favorable coupling (RV-Ees/Ea ≥0.68) in PH was associated with preserved RV size/function and mid-term survival, comparable to HFREF without PH.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Private grant(s) and/or Sponsorship. Main funding source(s): Boston Scientific

Correlation of the human pubic symphysis surface with age-at-death: a novel quantitative method based on a bandpass filter

Age-at-death estimation from skeletal remains typically utilizes the roughness of pubic symphysis articular surfaces. This study presents a new quantitative method adapting a tool from geometric morphometrics, bandpass filtering of partial warp bending energy to extract only age-related changes of the surfaces. The study sample consisted of 440 surface-scanned symphyseal pubic bones from men between 14 and 82 years of age, which were landmarked with 102 fixed and surface semilandmarks. From the original sample, 371 specimens within Procrustes distance of 0.05 of the side-specific average were selected. For this subsample, age was correlated with total bending energy (calculated as summed squared partial warps amplitudes) for a wide range of plausible bandpass filters. For our subsample's 188 right-side surfaces, the correlation between age and bandpass filtered versions of bending energy peaks relatively sharply at r = -0.648 for ages up through 49 years against the first seven partial warp amplitudes only. The finding for left symphyses is similar. The results demonstrate that below the age 50, the symphyseal surface form changes most systematically related to age may be best detected by a lowpass-filtered version of bending energy: signals at the largest geometric scales of roughness rather than its full spectrum. Combining this method with information from other skeletal features could further improve age-at-death estimation based on the symphyseal pubic surface.

Social Perception of Faces: Brain Imaging and Subjective Ratings

The aim of this study was to investigate how a female face is perceived in terms of its attractiveness, dominance, health, femininity-masculinity, and maturity in direct relation to the body fat percentage (BFP) conveyed by the face. To compare how young adults (ages 18 to 35) respond to different levels of body fat percentage both subjectively and objectively we collected survey ratings and electroencephalography (EEG) data across five different levels of BFP from 40 participants. We adapted the experimental design from a prior behavioral study and used calibrated and morphed female face images of five different BFP levels. The results of the survey are in consensus with the previous study and assessed to be a successful replication. From the EEG data, event-related potentials (ERPs) were extracted from one electrode location (right occipitotemporal brain region) known to be particularly sensitive to face-stimuli. We found statistically significant differences in the amplitudes of the P200 component (194 ms post stimulus onset) between the thickest face and all four other BFP conditions, and in the amplitudes of the N300 component (274 ms post stimulus onset) between the average face and three other BFP conditions. As expected, there were no significant differences among the N170 amplitudes of all five BFP conditions since this ERP component simply reflects the processing of faces in general. From these results, we can infer that holistic face encoding characterized by the N170 component in the right occipitotemporal area is followed by serial evaluative processes, whose categorical and qualitative matrix and spatiotemporal dynamics should be further explored in future studies, especially in relation to the social constructs that were focused on in this study.

Facial aging trajectories: A common shape pattern in male and female faces is disrupted after menopause

Objectives

Despite variation in lifestyle and environment, first signs of human facial aging show between the ages of 20–30 years. It is a cumulative process of changes in the skin, soft tissue, and skeleton of the face. As quantifications of facial aging in living humans are still scarce, we set out to study age‐related changes in three‐dimensional facial shape using geometric morphometrics.

Materials and methods

We collected surface scans of 88 human faces (aged 26–90 years) from the coastal town Split (Croatia) and neighboring islands. Based on a geometric morphometric analysis of 585 measurement points (landmarks and semilandmarks), we modeled sex‐specific trajectories of average facial aging.

Results

Age‐related facial shape change was similar in both sexes until around age 50, at which time the female aging trajectory turned sharply. The overall magnitude of facial shape change (aging rate) was higher in women than men, especially in early postmenopause. Aging was generally associated with a flatter face, sagged soft tissue (“broken” jawline), deeper nasolabial folds, smaller visible areas of the eyes, thinner lips, and longer nose and ears. In postmenopausal women, facial aging was best predicted by the years since last menstruation and mainly attributable to bone resorption in the mandible.

Discussion

With high spatial and temporal resolution, we were able to extract a shared facial aging pattern in women and men, and its divergence after menopause. This fully quantitative three‐dimensional analysis of human facial aging may not only find applications in forensic and ancient human facial reconstructions, but shall include lifestyle and endocrinological measures, and also reach out to studies of social perception.

Associations of physical strength with facial shape in an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania

OBJECTIVES

Previous research has documented associations of physical strength and facial morphology predominantly in men of Western societies. Faces of strong men tend to be more robust, are rounder and have a prominent jawline compared with faces of weak men. Here, we investigate whether the morphometric patterns of strength-face relationships reported for members of industrialized societies can also be found in members of an African pastoralist society, the Maasai of Northern Tanzania.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Handgrip strength (HGS) measures and facial photographs were collected from a sample of 185 men and 120 women of the Maasai in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In young-adults (20-29 years; n = 95) and mid-adults (30-50 years; n = 114), we digitized 71 somatometric landmarks and semilandmarks to capture variation in facial morphology and performed shape regressions of landmark coordinates upon HGS. Results were visualized in the form of thin-plate plate spline deformation grids and geometric morphometric morphs.

RESULTS

Individuals with higher HGS tended to have wider faces with a lower and broader forehead, a wider distance between the medial canthi of the eyes, a wider nose, fuller lips, and a larger, squarer lower facial outline compared with weaker individuals of the same age-sex group. In mid-adult men, these associations were weaker than in the other age-sex groups.

DISCUSSION

We conclude that the patterns of HGS relationships with face shape in the Maasai are similar to those reported from related investigations in samples of industrialized societies. We discuss differences between the present and related studies with regard to knowledge about the causes for age- and sex-related facial shape variation and physical strength associations.

Abstract 030: IL-17A Induces Vascular Dysfunction via Downregulation of eNOS Expression

Introduction: Interleukin-17A is important in the development of vascular dysfunction. However, the mechanism behind is still not completely understood. The aim of our study was to investigate if IL-17A overexpression in T cells induces vascular dysfunction mainly via inflammatory cell recruitment to the vessel wall or if there are other mechanisms behind.

Methods: We used a mouse model of T cell specific IL-17A overexpression (CD4-IL-17A ind/+ mice) and a model of ubiquitous IL-17 receptor A knockout (IL-17RA del mice). Vascular dysfunction was induced via Angiotensin-II (Ang-II, 1mg/kg/day, 1 week). Aortic relaxation was determined using isometric tension studies. Blood pressure measurements were performed with tail-cuff method and ROS/RNS detection in whole blood was accomplished using L-012 ECL. Flow cytometric and histological analysis of aorta and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) were performed. Aortic NO • formation was detected by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR).

Results: The continuous overexpression of IL-17A in T cells indeed led to the development of vascular dysfunction accompanied by increased ROS/RNS formation under Angiotensin-II treatment compared to wildtype mice. These results go in line with an elevated blood pressure and a reduction of the left-ventricular ejection fraction in CD4-IL-17A ind/+ mice. Although IL-17A plays an important role in neutrophil recruitment, chronic T cell specific overexpression of IL-17A did not lead to strongly elevated myeloid cells in the aortic vessel wall. Interestingly, IL-17A overexpression reduced NO • formation in aortas and decreased eNOS expression in PVAT. In contrast, the attenuation of IL-17A signaling in IL-17RA del mice significantly reduced the development of Ang-II induced vascular dysfunction as well as Ang-II induced aortic inflammation and peripheral ROS/RNS formation.

Conclusions: Blockade of IL-17A signaling in IL-17RA del mice partially protects from Ang-II induced vascular dysfunction and inflammation. IL-17A overexpression in T cells led to vascular dysfunction. This was independent from inflammatory cell infiltration to the aortic vessel wall and associated with a reduction of NO-release and a down-regulation of eNOS expression PVAT.

Calibrating facial morphs for use as stimuli in biological studies of social perception

Studies of human social perception become more persuasive when the behavior of raters can be separated from the variability of the stimuli they are rating. We prototype such a rigorous analysis for a set of five social ratings of faces varying by body fat percentage (BFP). 274 raters of both sexes in three age groups (adolescent, young adult, senior) rated five morphs of the same averaged facial image warped to the positions of 72 landmarks and semilandmarks predicted by linear regression on BFP at five different levels (the average, ±2 SD, ±5 SD). Each subject rated all five morphs for maturity, dominance, masculinity, attractiveness, and health. The patterns of dependence of ratings on the BFP calibration differ for the different ratings, but not substantially across the six groups of raters. This has implications for theories of social perception, specifically, the relevance of individual rater scale anchoring. The method is also highly relevant for other studies on how biological facial variation affects ratings.

Galectin-9 binds to O-glycans on protein disulfide isomerase

Changes in the T cell surface redox environment regulate critical cell functions, such as cell migration, viral entry and cytokine production. Cell surface protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) contributes to the regulation of T cell surface redox status. Cell surface PDI can be released into the extracellular milieu or can be internalized by T cells. We have found that galectin-9, a soluble lectin expressed by T cells, endothelial cells and dendritic cells, binds to and retains PDI on the cell surface. While endogenous galectin-9 is not required for basal cell surface PDI expression, exogenous galectin-9 mediated retention of cell surface PDI shifted the disulfide/thiol equilibrium on the T cell surface. O-glycans on PDI are required for galectin-9 binding, and PDI recognition appears to be specific for galectin-9, as galectin-1 and galectin-3 do not bind PDI. Galectin-9 is widely expressed by immune and endothelial cells in inflamed tissues, suggesting that T cells would be exposed to abundant galectin-9, in cis and in trans, in infectious or autoimmune conditions.

Failure to Show a Temperature-Dependent Vascular Stability during Hemofiltration

The effect of different blood temperatures on the vascular stability during hemofiltration was evaluated in 10 patients being in the regular chronic hemofiltration program. In contrast to recent data, no differences could be observed with regard to the heart rate, systolic blood pressure or mean arterial pressure, when the blood returned to the patient either with a temperature of 34.68°C or 36.22°C. According to these data it is therefore presently not justified to consider differences in the blood temperature as a critical determinant for the vascular stability during HF.

Influence of Membranes on Generation of β2 M and Release of Leukocyte Lysosomal Enzymes

Normal leukocyte functional capacity was investigated by evaluation of phagocytosis of opsonised yeast cells in a radiometric test system. After incubation with dialysis membranes (different cellulosic membranes, polysulfon membrane (PS), polymethylmetacrylate membrane (PMMN), the phagocytosis index, expressed as percent decrease with respect to initial values without membrane, decreased by 10%–25%. The most pronounced effect was observed with PS, cuprophane, modified cellulose and PMMA. The results are not related to differences in the viability of PMN during the test procedure; dead PMN amounted to about 4–6.5%. A significant increase in β-NAG and β-Gluc activities was released in the supernatants of the phagocytosis suspensions. This increase activity can be explained by the phagocytosis of PMN but it was not influenced by membrane contact. There was no influence of membrane contact or phagocytosis activity of PMN on the β2M concentration in the supernatant demonstrating that no in vitro generation during incubation with either membrane exists.

Estimating active layer thickness and volumetric water content from ground penetrating radar measurements in Barrow, Alaska

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has emerged as an effective tool for estimating active layer thickness (ALT) and volumetric water content (VWC) within the active layer. In August 2013, we conducted a series of GPR and probing surveys using a 500 MHz antenna and metallic probe around Barrow, Alaska. We collected about 15 km of GPR data and 1.5 km of probing data. Here, we describe the GPR data processing workflow from raw GPR data to the estimated ALT and VWC. We include the corresponding uncertainties for each measured and estimated parameter. The estimated average GPR-derived ALT was 41 cm, with a standard deviation of 9 cm. The average probed ALT was 40 cm, with a standard deviation of 12 cm. The average GPR-derived VWC was 0.65, with a standard deviation of 0.14.

Uncertainty in the response of terrestrial carbon sink to environmental drivers undermines carbon-climate feedback predictions

Terrestrial ecosystems play a vital role in regulating the accumulation of carbon (C) in the atmosphere. Understanding the factors controlling land C uptake is critical for reducing uncertainties in projections of future climate. The relative importance of changing climate, rising atmospheric CO2, and other factors, however, remains unclear despite decades of research. Here, we use an ensemble of land models to show that models disagree on the primary driver of cumulative C uptake for 85% of vegetated land area. Disagreement is largest in model sensitivity to rising atmospheric CO2 which shows almost twice the variability in cumulative land uptake since 1901 (1 s.d. of 212.8 PgC vs. 138.5 PgC, respectively). We find that variability in CO2 and temperature sensitivity is attributable, in part, to their compensatory effects on C uptake, whereby comparable estimates of C uptake can arise by invoking different sensitivities to key environmental conditions. Conversely, divergent estimates of C uptake can occur despite being based on the same environmental sensitivities. Together, these findings imply an important limitation to the predictability of C cycling and climate under unprecedented environmental conditions. We suggest that the carbon modeling community prioritize a probabilistic multi-model approach to generate more robust C cycle projections.

Patterns of correlation of facial shape with physiological measurements are more integrated than patterns of correlation with ratings

This article exploits a method recently incorporated in the geometric morphometric toolkit that complements previous approaches to quantifying the facial features associated with specific body characteristics and trait attribution during social perception. The new method differentiates more globally encoded from more locally encoded information by a summary scaling dimension that is estimated by fitting a line to the plot of log bending energy against log variance explained, partial warp by partial warp, for some sample of varying shapes. In the present context these variances come from the regressions of shape on some exogenous cause or effect of form. We work an example involving data from male faces. Here the regression slopes are steepest, and the sums of explained variances over the uniform component, partial warp 1 and partial warp 2 are greatest, for the conventional body mass index, followed by cortisol and, lastly, perceived health. This suggests that physiological characteristics may be represented at larger scale (global patterns), whereas cues in perception are of smaller scale (local patterns). Such a polarity within psychomorphospace, the global versus the focal, now has a metric by which patterns of morphology can be modeled in both biological and psychological studies.

BMI and WHR Are Reflected in Female Facial Shape and Texture: A Geometric Morphometric Image Analysis

Facial markers of body composition are frequently studied in evolutionary psychology and are important in computational and forensic face recognition. We assessed the association of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with facial shape and texture (color pattern) in a sample of young Middle European women by a combination of geometric morphometrics and image analysis. Faces of women with high BMI had a wider and rounder facial outline relative to the size of the eyes and lips, and relatively lower eyebrows. Furthermore, women with high BMI had a brighter and more reddish skin color than women with lower BMI. The same facial features were associated with WHR, even though BMI and WHR were only moderately correlated. Yet BMI was better predictable than WHR from facial attributes. After leave-one-out cross-validation, we were able to predict 25% of variation in BMI and 10% of variation in WHR by facial shape. Facial texture predicted only about 3–10% of variation in BMI and WHR. This indicates that facial shape primarily reflects total fat proportion, rather than the distribution of fat within the body. The association of reddish facial texture in high-BMI women may be mediated by increased blood pressure and superficial blood flow as well as diet. Our study elucidates how geometric morphometric image analysis serves to quantify the effect of biological factors such as BMI and WHR to facial shape and color, which in turn contributes to social perception.

Signatures of positive selection in the cis-regulatory sequences of the human oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1A) genes

BACKGROUND

The evolutionary highly conserved neurohypophyseal hormones oxytocin and arginine vasopressin play key roles in regulating social cognition and behaviours. The effects of these two peptides are meditated by their specific receptors, which are encoded by the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and arginine vasopressin receptor 1a genes (AVPR1A), respectively. In several species, polymorphisms in these genes have been linked to various behavioural traits. Little, however, is known about whether positive selection acts on sequence variants in genes influencing variation in human behaviours.

RESULTS

We identified, in both neuroreceptor genes, signatures of balancing selection in the cis-regulative acting sequences such as transcription factor binding and enhancer sequences, as well as in a transcriptional repressor sequence motif. Additionally, in the intron 3 of the OXTR gene, the SNP rs59190448 appears to be under positive directional selection. For rs59190448, only one phenotypical association is known so far, but it is in high LD' (>0.8) with loci of known association; i.e., variants associated with key pro-social behaviours and mental disorders in humans.

CONCLUSIONS

Only for one SNP on the OXTR gene (rs59190448) was a sign of positive directional selection detected with all three methods of selection detection. For rs59190448, however, only one phenotypical association is known, but rs59190448 is in high LD' (>0.8), with variants associated with important pro-social behaviours and mental disorders in humans. We also detected various signatures of balancing selection on both neuroreceptor genes.

The morphometrics of "masculinity" in human faces

In studies of social inference and human mate preference, a wide but inconsistent array of tools for computing facial masculinity has been devised. Several of these approaches implicitly assumed that the individual expression of sexually dimorphic shape features, which we refer to as maleness, resembles facial shape features perceived as masculine. We outline a morphometric strategy for estimating separately the face shape patterns that underlie perceived masculinity and maleness, and for computing individual scores for these shape patterns. We further show how faces with different degrees of masculinity or maleness can be constructed in a geometric morphometric framework. In an application of these methods to a set of human facial photographs, we found that shape features typically perceived as masculine are wide faces with a wide inter-orbital distance, a wide nose, thin lips, and a large and massive lower face. The individual expressions of this combination of shape features—the masculinity shape scores—were the best predictor of rated masculinity among the compared methods (r = 0.5). The shape features perceived as masculine only partly resembled the average face shape difference between males and females (sexual dimorphism). Discriminant functions and Procrustes distances to the female mean shape were poor predictors of perceived masculinity.

Microbe-Host Interactions are Positively and Negatively Regulated by Galectin-Glycan Interactions

Microbe–host interactions are complex processes that are directly and indirectly regulated by a variety of factors, including microbe presentation of specific molecular signatures on the microbial surface, as well as host cell presentation of receptors that recognize these pathogen signatures. Cell surface glycans are one important class of microbial signatures that are recognized by a variety of host cell lectins. Host cell lectins that recognize microbial glycans include members of the galectin family of lectins that recognize specific glycan ligands on viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In this review, we will discuss the ways that the interactions of microbial glycans with host cell galectins positively and negatively regulate pathogen attachment, invasion, and survival, as well as regulate host responses that mitigate microbial pathogenesis.

Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale and Motor Function Measure-20 in non ambulant SMA patients

The aim of this prospective longitudinal multi centric study was to evaluate the correlation between the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale and the 20 item version of the Motor Function Measure in non ambulant SMA children and adults at baseline and over a 12 month period. Seventy-four non-ambulant patients performed both measures at baseline and 49 also had an assessment 12 month later. At baseline the scores ranged between 0 and 40 on the Hammersmith Motor function Scale and between 3 and 45 on the Motor Function Measure 20. The correlation between the two scales was 0.733. The 12 month changes ranged between -11 and 4 for the Hammersmith and between -11 and 7 for the Motor Function Measure 20. The correlation between changes was 0.48. Our results suggest that both scales provide useful information although they appeared to work differently at the two extremes of the spectrum of abilities. The Hammersmith Motor Function Scale appeared to be more suitable in strong non ambulant patients, while the Motor Function Measures appeared to be more sensitive to capture activities and possible changes in the very weak patients, including more items capturing axial and upper limb activities. The choice of these measures in clinical trials should therefore depend on inclusion criteria and magnitude of expected changes.

Body fat and facial shape are correlated in female adolescents

OBJECTIVES

Relative body weight is not only an important indicator for health and reproductive condition, but also subject to stereotypes and stigmatization. It can be reliably assessed from adult faces alone, yet the facial correlates, especially in adolescents, remain largely unidentified. This study was designed to determine the facial features of adolescent girls that change with body fat proportion using a modern, comprehensive technique for shape analysis.

METHODS

Standardized frontal facial photographs of 22 Caucasian female adolescents (mean age 15.8 ± 2.7 years) were taken, and body height, body weight, and body fat proportion measured. Seventy-two somatometric measurement points were digitized on each photograph and their Cartesian coordinates regressed onto body fat proportion. Geometric morphometrics also enabled visualizing the statistical results as shapes.

RESULTS

Body fat proportion explained 8.7% of the facial shape variation (10,000 permutations, P = 0.047). Girls with high body fat had a relatively rounder and larger lower face, relatively smaller eyes, and a shorter and wider nose, fuller lips and downturned corners of the mouth. Low body fat was associated with a more angular lower face and a pointier chin, relatively larger eyes and a longer nose. The lips were wider and thinner, the corners of the mouth upturned.

CONCLUSION

Body fat proportion is a substantial factor in facial shape variation of female adolescents. The potential influence of the corresponding facial features on social perception is discussed. Prospects for future research including novel possibilities for stimuli design (GM morphs) are highlighted.

A nonionic inhibitor with high specificity for the UDP-Gal donor binding site of human blood group B galactosyltransferase: design, synthesis, and characterization

9-(5-O-α-D-galactopyranosyl)-D-arabinityl-1,3,7-trihydropurine-2,6,8-trione (1) was designed and synthesized as a nonionic inhibitor for the donor binding site of human blood group B galactosyltransferase (GTB). Enzymatic characterization showed 1 to be extremely specific, as the highly homologous human N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GTA) is not inhibited. The binding epitope of 1 demonstrates a high involvement of the arabinityl linker, whereas the galactose residue is only making contact to the protein via its C-2 site, which is very important for the discrimination between galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine, the substrate transferred by GTA. The approach can generate highly specific glycosyltransferase inhibitors.

Leptin locally synthesized in carotid atherosclerotic plaques could be associated with lesion instability and cerebral emboli

BACKGROUND

Unstable carotid plaques cause cerebral emboli. Leptin promotes atherosclerosis and vessel wall remodeling. We hypothesized that carotid atherosclerotic lesion instability is associated with local leptin synthesis.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Carotid endarterectomy plaques from symptomatic (n=40) and asymptomatic patients with progressive stenosis (n=38) were analyzed for local expression of leptin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. All lesions exhibited advanced atherosclerosis inclusive of thick- and thin-cap fibroatheromas or lesion rupture. Symptomatic lesions exhibited more plaque ruptures and macrophage infiltration (P=0.001 and P=0.05, respectively). Symptomatic plaques showed preferential leptin, TNF-α, and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 transcript (P=0.03, P=0.04, and P=0.05, respectively). Leptin mRNA and antigen in macrophages and smooth muscle cells were confirmed by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Plasma leptin levels were not significantly different between groups (P=1.0), whereas TNF-α was significantly increased in symptomatic patients (P=0.006). Human aortic smooth muscle cell culture stimulated by TNF-α, lipopolysaccharide, or lipoteichoic acid revealed 6-, 6.7-, and 6-fold increased secreted leptin antigen, respectively, at 72 hours (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Neurologically symptomatic patients overexpress leptin mRNA and synthesize leptin protein in carotid plaque macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Local leptin induction, presumably by TNF-α, could exert paracrine or autocrine effects, thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of lesion instability.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: www.Clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00449306.

Second-to-fourth digit ratio and facial shape in boys: the lower the digit ratio, the more robust the face

During human ontogeny, testosterone has powerful organizational and activational effects on the male organism. This has led to the hypothesis that the prenatal environment (as studied through the second-to-fourth digit ratio, 2D : 4D) is not only associated with robust adult male faces that are perceived as dominant and masculine, but also that there is an activational step during puberty. To test the latter, we collected digit ratios and frontal photographs of right-handed Caucasian boys (aged 4-11 years) along with age, body height and body weight. Using geometric morphometrics, we show a significant relationship between facial shape and 2D : 4D before the onset of puberty (explaining 14.5% of shape variation; p = 0.014 after 10 000 permutations, n = 17). Regression analyses depict the same shape patterns as in adults, namely that the lower the 2D : 4D, the smaller and shorter the forehead, the thicker the eyebrows, the wider and shorter the nose, and the larger the lower face. Our findings add to previous evidence that certain adult male facial characteristics that elicit attributions of masculinity and dominance are determined very early in ontogeny. This has implications for future studies in various fields ranging from social perception to life-history strategies.

Geometric morphometrics of male facial shape in relation to physical strength and perceived attractiveness, dominance, and masculinity

OBJECTIVES

Evolutionary psychologists claim that women have adaptive preferences for specific male physical traits. Physical strength may be one of those traits, because recent research suggests that women rate faces of physically strong men as more masculine, dominant, and attractive. Yet, previous research has been limited in its ability to statistically map specific male facial shapes and features to corresponding physical measures (e.g., strength) and ratings (e.g., attractiveness).

METHODS

The association of handgrip strength (together with measures of shoulder width, body height, and body fat) and women's ratings of male faces (concerning dominance, masculinity, and attractiveness) were studied in a sample of 26 Caucasian men (aged 18-32 years). Geometric morphometrics was used to statistically assess the covariation of male facial shape with these measures. Statistical results were visualized with thin-plate spline deformation grids along with image unwarping and image averaging.

RESULTS

Handgrip strength together with shoulder width, body fat, dominance, and masculinity loaded positively on the first dimension of covariation with facial shape (explaining 72.6%, P < 0.05). These measures were related to rounder faces with wider eyebrows and a prominent jaw outline while highly attractive and taller men had longer, narrower jaws and wider/fuller lips.

CONCLUSIONS

Male physical strength was more strongly associated with changes in face shape that relate to perceived masculinity and dominance than to attractiveness. Our study adds to the growing evidence that attractiveness and dominance/masculinity may reflect different aspects of male mate quality.

Distinct effects of leukocyte and cardiac phosphoinositide 3-kinase γ activity in pressure overload-induced cardiac failure

BACKGROUND

Signaling from phosphoinositide 3-kinase γ (PI3Kγ) is crucial for leukocyte recruitment and inflammation but also contributes to cardiac maladaptive remodeling. To better understand the translational potential of these findings, this study investigates the role of PI3Kγ activity in pressure overload-induced heart failure, addressing the distinct contributions of bone marrow-derived and cardiac cells.

METHODS AND RESULTS

After transverse aortic constriction, mice knock-in for a catalytically inactive PI3Kγ (PI3Kγ KD) showed reduced fibrosis and normalized cardiac function up to 16 weeks. Accordingly, treatment with a selective PI3Kγ inhibitor prevented transverse aortic constriction-induced fibrosis. To define the cell types involved in this protection, bone marrow chimeras, lacking kinase activity in the immune system or the heart, were studied after transverse aortic constriction. Bone marrow-derived cells from PI3Kγ KD mice were not recruited to wild-type hearts, thus preventing fibrosis and preserving diastolic function. After prolonged pressure overload, chimeras with PI3Kγ KD bone marrow-derived cells showed slower development of left ventricular dilation and higher fractional shortening than controls. Conversely, in the presence of a wild-type immune system, KD hearts displayed bone marrow-derived cell infiltration and fibrosis at early stages but reduced left ventricular dilation and preserved contractile function at later time points.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, these data demonstrate that, in response to transverse aortic constriction, PI3Kγ contributes to maladaptive remodeling at multiple levels by modulating both cardiac and immune cell functions.

Laying eyes on headlights: eye movements suggest facial features in cars

Humans' proneness to see faces even in inanimate structures such as cars has long been noticed, yet empirical evidence is scarce. To examine this tendency of anthropomorphism, participants were asked to compare specific features (such as the eyes) of a face and a car front presented next to each other. Eye movement patterns indicated on which visual information participants relied to solve the task and clearly revealed the perception of facial features in cars, such as headlights as eyes or grille as nose. Most importantly, a predominance of headlights was found in attracting and guiding people's gaze irrespective of the feature they were asked to compare--equivalent to the role of the eyes during face perception. This response to abstract configurations is interpreted as an adaptive bias of the respective inherent mechanism for face perception and is evolutionarily reasonable with regard to a "better safe than sorry" strategy.