scholarly journals Mate Availability and Sexual Disgust

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney L. Crosby ◽  
Patrick Durkee ◽  
Anna Sedlacek ◽  
David M. Buss

Objective: One of the factors that sexual disgust should be calibrated to is the size of the mating pool. Previous research provides evidence that low mate availability affects perceptions related to mate choice. However, methodological shortcomings leave the role of sexual disgust in facilitating mate selection unclear. We will examine whether perceptions of mate availability explain variance in levels of sexual disgust towards potential mates.Methods: Participants (N = 1,000) will rate how sexually disgusting they find 60 potential mates that have previously been rated on attractiveness by a separate group of raters. We will measure participants’ perceptions of mate availability in their local environment, self-perceived attractiveness and mate value, and relevant control variables (e.g., age, relationship status). Results: We will use linear mixed effect models to examine (1) the association between sexual disgust towards potential mates and perceived mate availability; (2) the sex difference in sexual disgust; (3) the association between targets’ attractiveness and raters’ sexual disgust; and (4) whether perceived mate availability moderates the association between sexual disgust and targets’ attractiveness. Conclusions: This study will test perceptions of mate availability as an input into the calibration of sexual disgust. The results will clarify the magnitude of mate availability perceptions on mate choice.

Author(s):  
Miriti Jane Kinya ◽  
Kenneth Lawrance Wanjau ◽  
Nyagweth Ebenezer Odeyo

The study sought to assess the importance of classifying incubators based on the programs offered for optimum performance. Client selection criteria were assessed through three constructs namely: models that fit program goals, uniqueness of ideas, and standard selection tool. A mixed cross-sectional and causal design was adopted and a census was carried out targeting all the 51 incubators. Primary data was collected with an incubator program as a grouping/ cluster variable yielding a multilevel data structure with incubator centres nested in programs. Linear mixed effect models were fitted using Stata to assess the study objective taking into account the fixed effects for the incubator centre level (level-1) and random effects for the program level (level-2). The uniqueness of ideas was found to have a significant fixed effect on performance at level one while at level two, the study found significant random intercepts of incubator centre performance across the programs. Models that match program goals and standard selection tools were also found to have significant random slopes as level two random covariates in the model. Based on the findings of significant random slopes, the study concluded that incubator classification is key for client selection criteria and enhances incubator performance.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Anatol Stoops ◽  
Jack Dempsey ◽  
Kiel Christianson

We present the first investigation of parafoveal syntactic predictability modulation of inflectional morphology. Earlier eye-tracking studies with boundary-change manipulations have established that highly expected (78% Cloze test score) morphologically related preview have been integrated into the message level sentence stream as the related preview yielded preview cost over both the identical (no-change grammatical but less expected (22% Cloze test score)) and nonword previews (Stoops & Christianson, 2017; 2019). The current study reversed the syntactic expectations for the identical (94% Cloze test score) and related (ungrammatical 0% Cloze test score) previews and found only word-level facilitation of the ungrammatical related preview. Both frequentist and Bayesian linear mixed-effect models revealed that the related preview did not differ from identical in any of the measures and yielded a preview benefit over nonword previews in the total time. Further work is needed to understand the role of syntactic predictability on parafoveal processing in reading.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e044876
Author(s):  
Lina Madaniyazi ◽  
Chris Fook Sheng Ng ◽  
Xerxes Seposo ◽  
Michiko Toizumi ◽  
Lay-Myint Yoshida ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo investigate the extent to which temperature and influenza explained seasonality of mortality in Japan and to examine the association of the seasonality with prefecture-specific characteristics.DesignWe conducted time-series analysis to estimate the seasonal amplitude before and after adjusting for temperature and/or influenza-like illness (ILI). Next, we applied linear mixed effect models to investigate the association of seasonal amplitudes with each indicator on prefecture-specific characteristics on climate, demographic and socioeconomic factors and adaptations.Setting47 prefectures in JapanParticipantsDeaths for all-cause, circulatory, and respiratory disease between 1999 and 2015.Outcome measuresPeak-to-trough ratio (PTR, a measure of seasonal amplitude).ResultsThe nationwide unadjusted-PTRs for all-cause, circulatory and respiratory mortality were 1.29 (95% CIs: 1.28 to 1.31), 1.55 (95% CI: 1.52 to 1.57) and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.43 to 1.48), respectively. These PTRs reduced substantially after adjusting for temperature but very little after a separate adjustment for ILI. Furthermore, seasonal amplitudes varied between prefectures. However, there was no strong evidence for the associations of PTR with the indicators on prefecture-specific characteristics.ConclusionsSeasonality of mortality is primarily driven by temperature in Japan. The spatial variation in seasonal amplitudes was not associated with prefecture-specific characteristics. Although further investigations are required to confirm our findings, this study can help us gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying seasonality of mortality.


2021 ◽  
pp. oemed-2020-107039
Author(s):  
Jingyi Qin ◽  
Wei Xia ◽  
Gaodao Liang ◽  
Shunqing Xu ◽  
Xiuge Zhao ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate whether PM2.5 exposure in a highly polluted area (>100 µg/m3) affects glucose and lipid metabolism in healthy adults.MethodsWe recruited 110 healthy adults in Baoding city, Hebei, China, and followed them up between 2017 and 2018. Personal air samplers were used to monitor personal PM2.5 levels. Eight glucose and lipid metabolism parameters were quantified. We performed the linear mixed-effect models to investigate the relationships between PM2.5 and glucose and lipid metabolism parameters. Stratified analyses were further performed according to sex and body mass index (BMI).ResultsThe concentration of PM2.5 was the highest in spring, with a median of 232 μg/m3 and the lowest in autumn (139 μg/m3). After adjusting for potential confounders, we found that for each twofold increase in PM2.5, the median of insulin concentration decreased by 5.89% (95% CI −10.91% to −0.58%; p<0.05), and ox-LDL increased by 6.43% (95% CI 2.21% to 10.82%; p<0.05). Stratified analyses indicated that the associations were more pronounced in females, overweight and obese participants.ConclusionsExposure to high PM2.5 may have deleterious effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. Females, overweight and obese participants are more vulnerable.


Author(s):  
А.В. Лебедев ◽  
В.В. Кузьмичев

Сосна обыкновенная является одной из основных лесообразующих пород Европы, а ее древесина находит широкое применение в лесопромышленном комплексе. При оценке углерододепонирующих функций считается, что конверсионные коэффициенты являются константными по времени. Последние исследования показывают, что происходящие климатические изменения оказывают существенное влияние на прирост древесины и ее свойства. Цель данного исследования – выявление долговременных тенденций в изменении биомассы фракций деревьев сосны обыкновенной в Европе, происходящих с 1940 г. Для проверки гипотезы о влиянии календарного года на биомассу фракций деревьев проводился регрессионный анализ с применением линейных моделей смешанных эффектов. Проведенный статистический анализ позволил выявить достоверное влияние (при p < 0,05) календарного года только на биомассу стволов в коре. Наиболее сильно изменения проявляются для деревьев в молодняках и средневозрастных насаждениях, где происходит формирование наибольшего радиального прироста. Для крупномерных стволов, согласно результатам моделирования, снижение биомассы стволов в коре не прослеживается. В ближайшие десятилетия в результате продолжающихся климатических изменений процесс снижения биомассы и плотности древесины крупномерных стволов должен усилиться. Выявленные изменения биомассы сопровождаются снижением плотности древесины, что происходит в результате увеличения в структуре годичного прироста более рыхлой и менее плотной ранней древесины. Таким образом, в условиях ускоряющихся темпов роста древесных растений объемы стволов и запасы древесины не должны напрямую пересчитываться в депонированный углерод с учетом исторических значений конверсионных коэффициентов. Это также следует учитывать при мониторинге, моделировании и использовании углерода и биомассы в лесах в условиях глобальных изменений. Scots pine is one of the main forest-forming species in Europe, and its wood is widely used in the timber industry. When evaluating carbon-depositing functions, the conversion rations are assumed to be constant over time. Recent studies show that the ongoing climatic changes have a significant impact on the growth of trees and wood properties. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify long-term trends in the change in the biomass of Scots pine tree fractions in Europe since 1940. To test the hypothesis about the influence of the calendar year on the biomass of tree fractions, regression analysis was performed using linear mixed-effect models. The performed statistically analysis made it possible to reveal a significant effect (p < 0.05) of the calendar year only on the biomass of the trunks in the bark. The changes are most pronounced for trees in young and middle-aged stands, where the formation of the greatest radial growth occurs. For large-sized trunks, according to the simulation results, the biomass of the stems in the bark is not traced. In the coming decades, as a result of ongoing climate change, the decline in biomass and wood density of largesized stems should intensify. The revealed changes in biomass are accompanied by a decrease in wood density, which occurs as a result of an increase in the structure of the annual growth of looser and less dense early wood. Thus, in the context of accelerating growth rates of woody plants, the volume of trunks and wood stock should not be directly converted into deposited carbon, considering the historical values of conversion rations. This should also be considered when monitoring, modeling and using carbon and biomass in forests in the face of global change.


Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. e532-e544
Author(s):  
Laura E. Jonkman ◽  
Martijn D. Steenwijk ◽  
Nicky Boesen ◽  
Annemieke J.M. Rozemuller ◽  
Frederik Barkhof ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between β-amyloid (Aβ) load and postmortem structural network topology in decedents without dementia.MethodsFourteen decedents (mean age at death 72.6 ± 7.2 years) without known clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and meeting pathology criteria only for no or low Alzheimer disease (AD) pathologic change were selected from the Normal Aging Brain Collection Amsterdam database. In situ brain MRI included 3D T1-weighted images for anatomical registration and diffusion tensor imaging for probabilistic tractography with subsequent structural network construction. Network topologic measures of centrality (degree), integration (global efficiency), and segregation (clustering and local efficiency) were calculated. Tissue sections from 12 cortical regions were sampled and immunostained for Aβ and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau), and histopathologic burden was determined. Linear mixed effect models were used to assess the relationship between Aβ and p-tau load and network topologic measures.ResultsAβ was present in 79% of cases and predominantly consisted of diffuse plaques; p-tau was sparsely present. Linear mixed effect models showed independent negative associations between Aβ load and global efficiency (β = −0.83 × 10−3, p = 0.014), degree (β = −0.47, p = 0.034), and clustering (β = −0.55 × 10−2, p = 0.043). A positive association was present between Aβ load and local efficiency (β = 3.16 × 10−3, p = 0.035). Regionally, these results were significant in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for degree (β = −2.22, p < 0.001) and local efficiency (β = 1.01 × 10−2, p = 0.014) and precuneus for clustering (β = −0.91 × 10−2, p = 0.017). There was no relationship between p-tau and network topology.ConclusionThis study in deceased adults with AD-related pathologic change provides evidence for a relationship among early Aβ accumulation, predominantly of the diffuse type, and structural network topology, specifically of the PCC and precuneus.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Grajeda ◽  
Andrada Ivanescu ◽  
Mayuko Saito ◽  
Ciprian Crainiceanu ◽  
Devan Jaganath ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. D. Cameron ◽  
Kostas A. Triantis ◽  
Christine E. Parent ◽  
François Guilhaumon ◽  
María R. Alonso ◽  
...  

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