Human brain activity reflecting facial attractiveness from skin reflection

Facial attraction has a great influence on our daily social interactions. Previous studies have mainly focused on the attraction from facial shape and expression. We recently found that faces with radiant skin appear to be more attractive than those with oily-shiny or matte skin. In the present study, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and psychological experiments to determine the human brain activity that reflects facial attractiveness modulated by these skin reflection types. In the fMRI experiment, female subjects were shown successive images of unfamiliar female faces with matte, oily-shiny, or radiant skin. The subjects compared each face with the immediately preceding face in terms of attractiveness, age, and skin reflection, all based on the skin. The medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) was significantly more active when comparing attractiveness than when comparing skin reflection, suggesting that the mOFC is involved in processing facial attractiveness from skin reflection. In the psychological experiment, attractiveness rating was highest for radiant skin, followed by oily-shiny, and then matte skin. Comparison of the results of these experiments showed that mOFC activation level increased with attractiveness rating. These results suggest that the activation level of the mOFC reflects facial attractiveness from skin reflection.

INVESTMENT ATTRACTIVENESS RATING TERRITORIES OF ADVANCED SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE FEFD

The article presents the results of the rating assessment of the investment attractiveness of the territories of advanced development created in the Far Eastern Federal District. In the course of the analysis, the key factors that form investment attractiveness and investment risks have been identified.

The Effect of Phi on the Perception of Attractiveness

The ratio Phi, equal to approximately 1.618, is an observable phenomenon that Greek mathematician Euclid defined this relationship as a line in two parts, in which the ratio of the longer part to the shorter part is equal to the ratio of the total length over the longer part. The ancient Greeks thought of Phi as a mathematical representation of physical beauty. Although many studies have shown a correlation between Phi and perceived attractiveness, other studies have displayed no/very weak, correlation. The question, “Does the expression of Phi play a significant role in the attractiveness of a face?” was investigated. It was hypothesized that if the features of a face closely fit the proportions of Phi, then survey respondents will give that face a higher attractiveness rating than a face whose features do not. Landmark localization data was calculated for images of 14 different faces. Individual and average facial ratios were calculated for each photograph, and a survey was conducted in which 100 participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of each face on a scale of 1-10. The average attractiveness rating of each face was then compared to the variance/distance of its average facial ratio away from the numerical value of Phi. Based on the analysis of the data, faces with features whose proportions closely fit the ratio of Phi are perceived as more attractive than faces with features that do not. Faces with average facial ratios closer to Phi received higher average attractiveness ratings.

Operational Assessment of the Public Management Quality of an Investment Infrastructure Objects at the Meso-Level Based on the Attractiveness Rating of the Facilities for Potential Investors

The investment policy of the state at the present stage of the country's development predetermined the need for the development of processes of public management of socio-economic meso-level systems. These processes are the subject of research. The paper describes the main requirements to the methodology for the development of the process of public management of the investment infrastructure at the meso-level. The authors propose an approach to the development of the public management process at the meso-level on the basis of the concept of continuous improvement of E. Deming's process. The approach includes tools for monitoring and controlling the quality of management of the investment infrastructure. It is an approach to the organization of one of the tools for assessing the quality of public management of investment infrastructure objects, i.e. the index of attractiveness of investment infrastructure objects for potential investors. This indicator is proposed to be assessed on the basis of the attractiveness rating of infrastructure facilities (RAIF). The application of the methodical approach was demonstrated on the basis of data from the information site of the holding company DEGA GROUP. The paper also contains ratings of the attractiveness of the economic favored zones, industrial parks and technological parks of the subjects of the Russian Federation of the Siberian Federal District.

Feeding preference of Spodoptera frugiperda on different sorghum genotypes

ABSTRACT The resistance of plants to pests is a feature of great importance for agriculture, as it reduces costs with insecticides and promotes increased yield resulting in higher profits. This work aimed to evaluate the feeding preference of the Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillar by different sorghum genotypes. The experiment was carried out at the Entomology Laboratory of Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, at University Unit of Cassilândia, from March to June 2016. The experimental design was completely randomized with ten replicates. The treatments were composed by seven sorghum genotypes: Agromen 50A40, Agromen 50A50, DOW 1G100, DOW 1G220, DOW 1G233, XB 6022 and LG 6310. Evaluations were performed with 1st instar caterpillars. The number of caterpillars that settled in the genotypes at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60 minutes and 24 hours after the infestation was recorded. The feeding preference index and the fresh leaf mass consumed were estimated. The Agromen 50A40 genotype showed lower attractiveness rating for the S. frugiperda among all evaluated sorghum genotypes.

Influence of the Smile Line on Smile Attractiveness in Short and Long Face Individuals

Objectives. The study assessed the impact of facial height on attractiveness of smile, in association with the maxillary gingival display. This research was performed by dental professionals and laypersons.Materials and Methods. Frontal extraoral photographs were captured for both short and long faces. The photographs were modified using software for image-processing and three rater groups (orthodontists, dentists, and laypersons) evaluated the smile attractiveness, with 30 subjects in each group. Differences in ratings of the different smiles among the different experimental groups were examined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The Mann–WhitneyUtest was performed for pairwise comparisons between the experimental groups.Results. Dentists and laypeople were most likely to agree. For the short face, laypeople and dentists both rated the +2 mm gingival display smile as the most attractive smile whilst orthodontists ranked the 0 mm gingival display smile as the most attractive smile. For the long face, laypeople and dentists ranked the 0 mm gingival display smile as the most attractive smile, whilst orthodontists ranked the +2 mm gingival display as the most attractive.Conclusion. Smile line of both short and long face subjects was found to influence the smile attractiveness rating by the three rater groups.