scholarly journals Facial and body sexual dimorphism are not interconnected in the Maasai

2022 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina L. Butovskaya ◽  
Victoria V. Rostovtseva ◽  
Anna A. Mezentseva

Abstract Background In this paper, we investigate facial sexual dimorphism and its’ association with body dimorphism in Maasai, the traditional seminomadic population of Tanzania. We discuss findings on other human populations and possible factors affecting the developmental processes in Maasai. Methods Full-face anthropological photographs were obtained from 305 Maasai (185 men, 120 women) aged 17–90 years. Facial shape was assessed combining geometric morphometrics and classical facial indices. Body parameters were measured directly using precise anthropological instruments. Results Sexual dimorphism in Maasai faces was low, sex explained 1.8% of the total shape variance. However, male faces were relatively narrower and vertically prolonged, with slightly wider noses, narrower-set and lower eyebrows, wider mouths, and higher forehead hairline. The most sexually dimorphic regions of the face were the lower jaw and the nose. Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), measured in six known variants, revealed no significant sexual dimorphism. The allometric effects on facial traits were mostly related to the face growth, rather than the growth of the whole body (body height). Significant body dimorphism was demonstrated, men being significantly higher, with larger wrist diameter and hand grip strength, and women having higher BMI, hips circumferences, upper arm circumferences, triceps skinfolds. Facial and body sexual dimorphisms were not associated. Conclusions Facial sex differences in Maasai are very low, while on the contrary, the body sexual dimorphism is high. There were practically no associations between facial and body measures. These findings are interpreted in the light of trade-offs between environmental, cultural, and sexual selection pressures.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Kleisner ◽  
Petr Tureček ◽  
S. Craig Roberts ◽  
Jan Havlíček ◽  
Jaroslava Varella Valentova ◽  
...  

AbstractSexual selection, including mate choice and intrasexual competition, is responsible for the evolution of some of the most elaborated and sexually dimorphic traits in animals. Although there is sexual dimorphism in the shape of human faces, it is not clear whether this is similarly due to mate choice, or whether mate choice affects only part of the facial shape difference between men and women. Here we explore these questions by investigating patterns of both facial shape and facial preference across a diverse set of human populations. We find evidence that human populations vary substantially and unexpectedly in both the magnitude and direction of facial sexually dimorphic traits. In particular, European and South American populations display larger levels of facial sexual dimorphism than African populations. Neither cross-cultural differences in facial shape variation, sex differences in body height, nor differing preferences for facial femininity and masculinity across countries, explain the observed patterns of facial dimorphism. Altogether, the association between sexual shape dimorphism and attractiveness is moderate for women and weak (or absent) for men. Analysis that distinguishes between allometric and non-allometric components reveals that non-allometric facial dimorphism is preferred in women’s faces but not in faces of men. This might be due to different regimes of ongoing sexual selection acting on men, such as stronger intersexual selection for body height and more intense intrasexual physical competition, compared with women.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Kleisner ◽  
Petr Tureček ◽  
S. Craig Roberts ◽  
Jan Havlicek ◽  
Jaroslava Varella Valentova ◽  
...  

Sexual selection, including mate choice and intrasexual competition, is responsible for the evolution of some of the most elaborated and sexually dimorphic traits in animals. Although there is clear sexual dimorphism in the shape of human faces, it is not clear whether this is similarly due to mate choice, or whether mate choice affects only part of the facial shape difference between men and women. Here we explore these questions by investigating patterns of both facial shape and facial preference across a diverse set of human populations. We find evidence that human populations vary substantially and unexpectedly in both the range and pattern of facial sexually dimorphic traits. In particular, European and South American populations display larger levels of facial sexual dimorphism than African populations. Neither cross-cultural differences in facial shape variation, differences in body height between sexes, nor differing preferences for facial sex-typicality across countries, explain the observed patterns of facial dimorphism. Altogether, the association between morphological sex-typicality and attractiveness is moderate for women and weak (or absent) for men. Analysis that distinguishes between allometric and non-allometric components reveals that non-allometric sex-typicality is preferred in women’s faces but not in faces of men. This might be due to different regimes of ongoing sexual selection acting on men, such as stronger intersexual selection for body height and more intense intrasexual physical competition, compared with women.


Author(s):  
Joanna M. Bukowska ◽  
Małgorzata Jekiełek ◽  
Dariusz Kruczkowski ◽  
Tadeusz Ambroży ◽  
Jarosław Jaszczur-Nowicki

Background: The aim of the study is to assess the body balance and podological parameters and body composition of young footballers in the context of the control of football training. Methods: The study examined the distribution of the pressure of the part of the foot on the ground, the arch of the foot, and the analysis of the body composition of the boys. The pressure center for both feet and the whole body was also examined. The study involved 90 youth footballers from Olsztyn and Barczewo in three age groups: 8–10 years, 11–13 years old, and 14–16 years. The study used the Inbody 270 body composition analyzer and the EPSR1, a mat that measures the pressure distribution of the feet on the ground. Results: The results showed statistically significant differences in almost every case for each area of the foot between the groups of the examined boys. The most significant differences were observed for the metatarsal area and the left heel. In the case of stabilization of the whole body, statistically significant differences were noted between all study groups. In the case of the body composition parameters, in the examined boys, a coherent direction of changes was noticed for most of them. The relationships and correlations between the examined parameters were also investigated. The significance level in the study was set at p < 0.05. Conclusions: Under the training rigor, a statistically significant increase in stability was observed with age. The total length of the longitudinal arch of both feet of the examined boys showed a tendency to flatten in direct proportion to the age of the examined boys. Mean values of the body composition parameters reflect changes with the ontogenetic development, basic somatic parameters (body height and weight) and training experience, and thus with the intensity and volume of training. This indicates a correct training process that does not interfere with the proper development of the body in terms of tissue and biochemical composition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (47) ◽  
pp. 14717-14722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clark Fisher ◽  
Winrich A. Freiwald

The primate brain contains a set of face-selective areas, which are thought to extract the rich social information that faces provide, such as emotional state and personal identity. The nature of this information raises a fundamental question about these face-selective areas: Do they respond to a face purely because of its visual attributes, or because the face embodies a larger social agent? Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether the macaque face patch system exhibits a whole-agent response above and beyond its responses to individually presented faces and bodies. We found a systematic development of whole-agent preference through the face patches, from subadditive integration of face and body responses in posterior face patches to superadditive integration in anterior face patches. Superadditivity was not observed for faces atop nonbody objects, implying categorical specificity of face–body interaction. Furthermore, superadditivity was robust to visual degradation of facial detail, suggesting whole-agent selectivity does not require prior face recognition. In contrast, even the body patches immediately adjacent to anterior face areas did not exhibit superadditivity. This asymmetry between face- and body-processing systems may explain why observers attribute bodies’ social signals to faces, and not vice versa. The development of whole-agent selectivity from posterior to anterior face patches, in concert with the recently described development of natural motion selectivity from ventral to dorsal face patches, identifies a single face patch, AF (anterior fundus), as a likely link between the analysis of facial shape and semantic inferences about other agents.


2004 ◽  
Vol 01 (03) ◽  
pp. 497-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
YASUO KUNIYOSHI ◽  
YOSHIYUKI OHMURA ◽  
KOJI TERADA ◽  
AKIHIKO NAGAKUBO

Whole-body dynamic actions under various contacts with the environment will be very important for future humanoid robots to support human tasks in unstructured environments. Such skills are very difficult to realize using the standard motion control methodology based on asymptotic convergence to the successive desired states. An alternative approach would be to exploit the passive dynamics of the body under constrained motion, and to navigate through multiple dynamics by imposing the least control in order to robustly reach the goal state. As a first example of such a strategy, we propose and investigate a "Roll-and-Rise" motion. This is a fully dynamic whole-body task including underactuated motion whose state trajectory is insoluble, and unpredictable perturbations due to complex contacts with the ground. First, we analyze the global structure of Roll-and-Rise motion. Then the critical points are analyzed using simplified models and simulations. The results suggest a non-uniform control strategy which focuses on sparse critical points in the global phase space, and allows deviations and trade-offs at other parts. Finally, experiments with a real adult-size humanoid robot are successfully carried out. The robot rose from a flat-lying posture to a crouching posture within 2 seconds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A3-A3
Author(s):  
Farid Kurniawan ◽  
Primasari Deaningtyas ◽  
Dicky Levenus Tahapary ◽  
Dyah Purnamasari ◽  
Tika Pradnjaparamita ◽  
...  

Abstract Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence are increasing worldwide, including in the young adult population. In general, the prevalence is higher in urban than in rural. Relatively higher calories and fat intake with more sedentary lifestyle in urban population can cause a surplus in energy homeostasis that will eventually be stored as body fat. This change might influence the gut environment, which based on recent studies, could interact with the immune system leading to inflammation and contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and T2D. Our study aimed to assess the differences in adiposity profiles and insulin resistance between urban and rural Indonesian young adults and its association with serum lipocalin-2, a marker for systemic and gut inflammation. In this study, 242 individuals from urban and 233 subjects originating from rural areas were recruited. Anthropometry measurements, including body height, weight, and waist circumference (WC), were conducted. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from the body height and weight. Fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin were also measured, from which a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated as a surrogate marker for whole body insulin resistance. Meanwhile, serum lipocalin-2 was measured by ELISA. Urban subjects had higher BMI and WC compared to rural counterparts [mean diff. (95% CI): 1.71 (0.99;2.43) kg/m2, P&lt;0.001 and 4.4 (2.6;6.2) cm, P&lt;0.001), respectively]. Additionally, HOMA-IR was also higher in urban than rural subjects [0.12 (0.008;0.24), P=0.04, after adjusted for age, sex, and BMI]. Lower serum lipocalin-2 level was observed in urban compared to rural individuals [-74.09 (-96.95-51.23) ng/mL, P&lt;0.001]. However, no significant correlations were observed between serum lipocalin-2 with BMI, WC, or HOMA-IR (r=-0.06, P=0.19; r=-0.08, P=0.10; r=-0.002, P=0.96, respectively). The findings of worse adiposity profiles and insulin resistance in urban than rural subjects were consistent with the results observed in previous studies. Higher intestinal inflammation in rural subjects, as shown by higher serum lipocalin-2, could be caused by presumably a higher rate of chronic and recurrent intestinal infection usually found in people living in rural areas. These could indirectly affect the nutrient uptake and eventually contribute to the lower adiposity and insulin resistance in the rural population, apart from the relatively lower calories and fat intake in their diet. Therefore, further study that incorporate dietary intake analysis and assay for intestinal infection are warranted to confirm this hypothesis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Chmielewski ◽  
Krzysztof Borysławski ◽  
Krzysztof Chmielowiec ◽  
Jolanta Chmielowiec

AbstractLongitudinal studies of aging concerning individuals with comparable lifestyle, diet, health profile, socioeconomic status, and income remain extraordinarily rare. The purposes of our ongoing project are as follows: (i) to collect extensive data on biological and medical aspects of aging in the Polish population, (ii) to determine factors affecting the rate and course of aging, (iii) to understand how aging unfolds as a dynamic and malleable process in ontogeny, and (iv) to find novel predictors of longevity. Our investigation followed 142 physically healthy asylum inmates, including 68 males and 74 females, for at least 25 years from the age of 45 years onward. Cross-sectional assessment involved 225 inmates, including 113 males and 112 females. All the patients lived for a very long time under similar and good environmental conditions at the hospital in Cibórz, Lubuskie Province. They maintained virtually the same daily schedule and lifestyle. The rate and direction of changes with age in selected anthropometric and physiological traits were determined using ANOVA, t-test, and regression analysis. There were sex differences in the rate and pattern of age-related changes in certain characteristics such as relative weight, red blood cell count, monocyte count, thymol turbidity value, systolic blood pressure, and body temperature. Body weight, the body mass index (BMI), and total bilirubin level increased with advancing age, while body height decreased with age in both sexes. In conclusion, the aging process was associated with many regressive alterations in biological traits in both sexes but the rate and pattern of these changes depended on biological factors such as age and sex. There were only few characteristics which did not change significantly during the period under study. On the basis of comparison between the pattern of longitudinal changes with aging and the pattern of cross-sectional changes with age in the analyzed traits, we were able to predict which pattern of changes is associated with longer lifespan.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (11(41)) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Хоботова Наталія Володимирівна ◽  
Єхалов Василій Вталійович

Compression asphyxia is a type of mechanical asphyxia when breathing stops with external pressure on the body, which leads to the absence of respiratory movements and disrupts venous return from the head. With a strong compression of the chest, a reflex spasm of the glottis occurs, which contributes to an increase in intrathoracic pressure, reverse venous blood flow and an obstruction of venous flow to the heart occur. A sharp increase in intracranial pressure and venous congestive congestion / hemorrhage deepen central respiratory failure. Mild degree: mental agitation; puffy face, slight cyanosis; individual conjunctival petechiae; tachypnea. Medium degree: light or heavy stunning, lost orientation; the face is puffy, cyanotic; swelling of the cervical veins, acrocyanosis; multiple petechiae that spread across the face, neck, conjunctiva of the eyes, inspiratory dyspnea, visual impairment. Severe degree: stupor or coma, sharp cyanosis of the whole body, exophthalmos; swelling of the face, neck and shoulder girdle, arms, multiple petechiae of the face, neck, arms, legs, conjunctiva of the eyes, swelling of the cervical veins, cyanosis and edema of the upper half of the body; superficial breathing, frequent, in the absence of treatment passes to agonal and apnea. Intensive care includes analgesia, oxygenation or mechanical ventilation, anticonvulsant, dehydration and decongestant therapy, prevention of acute kidney damage, DIC, septic complications, and treatment of posthypoxic encephalopathy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-220
Author(s):  
Elisa Queiroz GARCIA ◽  
Jansen ZUANON

ABSTRACT Sexual dimorfism refers to morphological differences between males and females of a species. It may be a result of different selection pressures acting on either or both sexes and may occur in any sexually-reproducing dioecious species, including fishes. We analyzed 63 females and 63 adult males of Gymnorhamphichthys rondoni (Gymnotiformes) collected by us or deposited in museum collections. Sex was identified through abdominal dissection. We measured length from snout to posterior end of anal-fin, anal-fin length, distance from anus to anal-fin origin, distance from genital papilla to anal-fin origin, body width at beginning of anal-fin, and head length. Morphometric data submitted to a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) grouped males and females according to variables related to body size (along the first component) and to head length and body height along the second and third components. Females were larger than males, whereas males had proportionally larger heads and higher bodies than females. The urogenital papilla of males and females showed differences in shape, size and relative position on the body. The female papilla was elongated horizontally, larger than that of males, and was located on a vertical line below the eye, while the papilla of the males was vertically elongated and located on a vertical line below the operculum. To our knowledge, this is the first recorded case of sexual dimorphism in a species of Rhamphichthyidae, a condition that is now known in all the currently recognized families of Gymnotiformes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Tomáš Hadžega ◽  
Václav Bunc

The aim of our observation was to measure selected anthropometric characteristics and to analyze actual body composition in children of younger school age from elementary schools in Prague. The group consisted of a total of 222 probands, boys (n-117) and girls (n-105) aged 8–11 years (average boys age = 9.0 ± 1.0 years, body height = 139.9 ± 8.6 cm, body weight = 32 ± 7.5 kg, BMI = 16.3 ± 2.4 kg.m–2). Average age girls = 8.9 ± 0.9 years, body height = 137.3 ± 8.8 cm, body weight = 30.5 ± 7.3 kg, BMI = 15.9 ± 2.4 kg.m–2). The BIA 2000 M multi-frequency apparatus (whole-body bioimpedance analysis) was used to analyze the body composition. Children of younger school age showed higher TBW values – total body water (boys 65.5 ± 6.0%, girls 66.6 ± 6.5%), low body fat (boys 16.1 ± 2.4%, girls 16.5 ± 2.9%) and higher ECM/BCM coefficients (boys 1.0 ± 0.13, girls 1.02 ± 0.11). The authors draws, attention to the importance of monitoring other body composition parameters. The percentage of fat-free mass (FFM) and the share of segmental distribution of body fat and muscle mass on individual parts of the human body.


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