scholarly journals Fluctuating Asymmetry and Sexual Dimorphism in Human Facial Morphology: A Multi-Variate Study

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 304
Author(s):  
Omid Ekrami ◽  
Peter Claes ◽  
Ellen Van Assche ◽  
Mark D. Shriver ◽  
Seth M. Weinberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
High Density ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Facial Morphology ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Large Dataset ◽  
Genetic Quality

(1) Background: Fluctuating asymmetry is often used as an indicator of developmental instability, and is proposed as a signal of genetic quality. The display of prominent masculine phenotypic features, which are a direct result of high androgen levels, is also believed to be a sign of genetic quality, as these hormones may act as immunosuppressants. Fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity are therefore expected to covary. However, there is lack of strong evidence in the literature regarding this hypothesis. (2) Materials and methods: In this study, we examined a large dataset of high-density 3D facial scans of 1260 adults (630 males and 630 females). We mapped a high-density 3D facial mask onto the facial scans in order to obtain a high number of quasi-landmarks on the faces. Multi-dimensional measures of fluctuating asymmetry were extracted from the landmarks using Principal Component Analysis, and masculinity/femininity scores were obtained for each face using Partial Least Squares. The possible correlation between these two qualities was then examined using Pearson’s coefficient and Canonical Correlation Analysis. (3) Results: We found no correlation between fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity in men. However, a weak but significant correlation was found between average fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity in women, in which feminine faces had higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry on average. This correlation could possibly point to genetic quality as an underlying mechanism for both asymmetry and masculinity; however, it might also be driven by other fitness or life history traits, such as fertility. (4) Conclusions: Our results question the idea that fluctuating asymmetry and masculinity should be (more strongly) correlated in men, which is in line with the recent literature. Future studies should possibly focus more on the evolutionary relevance of the observed correlation in women.

Evaluation of the Aging Behavior of High Density Polyethylene in Thermal Oxidative Environment by Principal Component Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 727 ◽  
pp. 447-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Dai ◽  
Hua Yan ◽  
Jian Jian Yang ◽  
Jun Jun Guo
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Impact Strength ◽  
High Density Polyethylene ◽  
Tensile Modulus ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
High Density ◽  
Aging Behavior ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Impact

To evaluate the aging behavior of high density polyethylene (HDPE) under an artificial accelerated environment, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to establish a non-dimensional expression Z from a data set of multiple degradation parameters of HDPE. In this study, HDPE samples were exposed to the accelerated thermal oxidative environment for different time intervals up to 64 days. The results showed that the combined evaluating parameter Z was characterized by three-stage changes. The combined evaluating parameter Z increased quickly in the first 16 days of exposure and then leveled off. After 40 days, it began to increase again. Among the 10 degradation parameters, branching degree, carbonyl index and hydroxyl index are strongly associated. The tensile modulus is highly correlated with the impact strength. The tensile strength, tensile modulus and impact strength are negatively correlated with the crystallinity.

scholarly journals Genome-wide and high-density CRISPR-Cas9 screens identify point mutations in PARP1 causing PARP inhibitor resistance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Pettitt ◽  
Dragomir B. Krastev ◽  
Inger Brandsma ◽  
Amy Drean ◽  
Feifei Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Catalytic Domain ◽  
Synthetic Lethality ◽  
Parp Inhibitor ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Parp Inhibitors ◽  
High Density ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Amino Acid Mutations

AbstractPARP inhibitors (PARPi) target homologous recombination defective tumour cells via synthetic lethality. Genome-wide and high-density CRISPR-Cas9 “tag, mutate and enrich” mutagenesis screens identified single amino acid mutations in PARP1 that cause profound PARPi-resistance. These included PARP1 mutations outside of the DNA interacting regions of the protein, such as mutations in solvent exposed regions of the catalytic domain and clusters of mutations around points of contact between ZnF, WGR and HD domains. These mutations altered PARP1 trapping, as did a mutation found in a clinical case of PARPi resistance. These genetic studies reinforce the importance of trapped PARP1 as a key cytotoxic DNA lesion and suggest that interactions between non-DNA binding domains of PARP1 influence cytotoxicity. Finally, different mechanisms of PARPi resistance (BRCA1 reversion, PARP1, 53BP1, REV7 mutation) had differing effects on chemotherapy sensitivity, suggesting that the underlying mechanism of PARPi resistance likely influences the success of subsequent therapies.

Blood Triglyceride and High-Density Lipoprotein Levels Are Associated with Plasma Amyloid-β Transport: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Shan Wei, ◽  
Suhang Shang ◽  
Liangjun Dang ◽  
Fan Gao ◽  
Yao Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Population Based ◽  
High Density ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Low Hdl ◽  
Positive Correlations

Background: Studies have found that blood lipids are associated with plasma amyloid-β (Aβ) levels, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Two Aβ transporters, soluble form of low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein-1 (sLRP1) and soluble receptor of advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), are crucial in peripheral Aβ transport. Objective: The aim was to investigate the effects of lipids on the relationships between plasma Aβ and transporter levels. Methods: This study included 1,436 adults aged 40 to 88 years old. Blood Aβ, sLRP1, sRAGE, and lipid levels were measured. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyze the relationships between lipids and plasma Aβ, sLRP1, and sRAGE. Results: After adjusting for all possible covariates, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c) was positively associated with plasma Aβ 42 and sRAGE (β= 6.158, p = 0.049; β= 121.156, p <  0.001, respectively), while triglyceride (TG) was negatively associated with plasma Aβ 40, Aβ 42, and sRAGE (β= –48.389, p = 0.017; β= –11.142, p = 0.020; β= –147.937, p = 0.003, respectively). Additionally, positive correlations were found between plasma Aβ and sRAGE in the normal TG (Aβ 40: β= 0.034, p = 0.005; Aβ 42: β= 0.010, p = 0.001) and HDL-c groups (Aβ 40: β= 0.023, p = 0.033; Aβ 42: β= 0.008, p = 0.002) but not in the high TG and low HDL-c groups. Conclusion: Abnormal levels of TG and HDL-c are associated with decreased Aβ and sRAGE levels. Positive correlations between plasma Aβ and sRAGE were only found in the normal TG and HDL-c groups but not in the high TG and low HDL-c groups. These results indicated that dyslipidemia contributing to plasma Aβ levels might also be involved in peripheral Aβ clearance.

3D Facial morphology in children affected by spinal muscular atrophy type 2 (SMAII)

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 500-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Pucciarelli ◽  
Daniele Gibelli ◽  
Chiara Mastella ◽  
Simona Bertoli ◽  
Katia Alberti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Sagittal Plane ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Facial Morphology ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Feeding Problems ◽  
Respiratory Impairment ◽  
Number Of Patients

Summary Objectives The main objective of this study was to assess the three-dimensional facial characteristics of children affected by spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a severe muscular disorder characterized by hypotonia, areflexia, weakness, and respiratory impairment. Materials/Methods Stereophotogrammetric facial scans from 22 SMA type II patients aged 2–7 years were obtained. Data were analysed using both inter-landmark distances and principal component analysis and compared with data collected from matched control subjects. Results Patients had wider transverse facial diameters, but smaller biocular width. Middle and lower anterior face heights were increased, whereas the mandibular ramus was shorter, with a reduced posterior-to-anterior face height ratio. Facial width-to-length ratio was reduced. In the sagittal plane, mandibular body length, and facial divergence were increased, whereas the gonial angles were decreased. In the horizontal plane, lower facial convexity was greater in patients, whereas mandibular convexity was smaller. Patients had smaller and down-slanted eye fissures, with a larger and more vertically developed nose. Limitations This study assessed a relatively small number of patients, due to the rare frequency of SMA type II. Conclusions/Implications SMA type II children possess peculiar facial alterations that may be due to the altered muscular activity. As feeding problems may derive also by malocclusion and masticatory muscular alterations, a detailed assessment of the craniofacial individual alterations should be considered in the standards of care of these patients.

Do Don Juans have better genes than family men?

2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-602
Author(s):  
Alice H. Eagly
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Genetic Quality

An alternative interpretation of Gangestad & Simpson's findings features the assumption that only a subgroup of those men who are low in fluctuating asymmetry are typically available for short-term mating. In general, these philandering men do not offer higher genetic quality than men who are securely attached to long-term mates.

scholarly journals Facial morphology prediction after complete denture restoration based on principal component analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-250
Author(s):  
Cheng Cheng ◽  
Xiaosheng Cheng ◽  
Ning Dai ◽  
Tao Tang ◽  
Zhenteng Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Complete Denture ◽  
Facial Morphology

scholarly journals Automatic spike sorting for high-density microelectrode arrays

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 3155-3171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Diggelmann ◽  
Michele Fiscella ◽  
Andreas Hierlemann ◽  
Felix Franke
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Microelectrode Arrays ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
High Density ◽  
Sorting Algorithm ◽  
Spike Sorting ◽  
Recording Electrodes

High-density microelectrode arrays can be used to record extracellular action potentials from hundreds to thousands of neurons simultaneously. Efficient spike sorters must be developed to cope with such large data volumes. Most existing spike sorting methods for single electrodes or small multielectrodes, however, suffer from the “curse of dimensionality” and cannot be directly applied to recordings with hundreds of electrodes. This holds particularly true for the standard reference spike sorting algorithm, principal component analysis-based feature extraction, followed by k-means or expectation maximization clustering, against which most spike sorters are evaluated. We present a spike sorting algorithm that circumvents the dimensionality problem by sorting local groups of electrodes independently with classical spike sorting approaches. It is scalable to any number of recording electrodes and well suited for parallel computing. The combination of data prewhitening before the principal component analysis-based extraction and a parameter-free clustering algorithm obviated the need for parameter adjustments. We evaluated its performance using surrogate data in which we systematically varied spike amplitudes and spike rates and that were generated by inserting template spikes into the voltage traces of real recordings. In a direct comparison, our algorithm could compete with existing state-of-the-art spike sorters in terms of sensitivity and precision, while parameter adjustment or manual cluster curation was not required. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We present an automatic spike sorting algorithm that combines three strategies to scale classical spike sorting techniques for high-density microelectrode arrays: 1) splitting the recording electrodes into small groups and sorting them independently; 2) clustering a subset of spikes and classifying the rest to limit computation time; and 3) prewhitening the spike waveforms to enable the use of parameter-free clustering. Finally, we combined these strategies into an automatic spike sorter that is competitive with state-of-the-art spike sorters.

Mineral relationships in 'maturity bronzing' of banana fruit

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (95) ◽  
pp. 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
SJ Campbell ◽  
WT Williams
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Mineral Elements ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Seasonal Effect ◽  
Banana Fruit ◽  
Mineral Imbalance ◽  
Fruit Skin

Two experiments have been conducted to explore the relations between the economically important disorder 'maturity bronzing' and a number of mineral elements. Neither irrigation nor fertilizer treatments had any significant effect on the degree of bronzing. In order to eliminate the highly significant seasonal effect, analyses were carried out on deviations from the appropriate harvest means. The techniques employed were a. stepwise multiple regression, and 6, principal component analysis of the within-harvests correlation matrix, followed by varimax rotation. The results suggest that fertilizer treatments can produce profound changes in the seasonal pattern of mineral content without significantly affecting the incidence of bronzing. When the effect of season is eliminated, bronzing shows a positive association with fruit-skin Cu and leaf Ca, and a negative association with fruit-skin Ca and Mg. However, these associations are relatively weak, and the results suggest that bronzing is not a direct result of mineral imbalance.

scholarly journals A Method for the Assessment of Textile Pilling Tendency Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3687
Author(s):  
Joanna Sekulska-Nalewajko ◽  
Jarosław Gocławski ◽  
Ewa Korzeniewska
Keyword(s):  
Optical Coherence Tomography ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Feature Space ◽  
Optical Coherence ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Mechanical Removal ◽  
Unnecessary Procedures ◽  
Fabric Surface ◽  
Different Thickness

Pilling is caused by friction pulling and fuzzing the fibers of a material. Pilling is normally evaluated by visually counting the pills on a flat fabric surface. Here, we propose an objective method of pilling assessment, based on the textural characteristics of the fabric shown in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. The pilling layer is first identified above the fabric surface. The percentage of protruding fiber pixels and Haralick’s textural features are then used as pilling descriptors. Principal component analysis (PCA) is employed to select strongly correlated features and then reduce the feature space dimensionality. The first principal component is used to quantify the intensity of fabric pilling. The results of experimental studies confirm that this method can determine the intensity of pilling. Unlike traditional methods of pilling assessment, it can also detect pilling in its early stages. The approach could help to prevent overestimation of the degree of pilling, thereby avoiding unnecessary procedures, such as mechanical removal of entangled fibers. However, the research covered a narrow group of fabrics and wider conclusions about the usefulness and limitations of this method can be drawn after examining fabrics of different thickness and chemical composition of fibers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document