Nominal kinship cues facilitate altruism.

We investigated whether names in common promote altruistic behaviour, predicting that this would be especially so for relatively uncommon names, for surnames (which are better kinship cues than first names), and among women (who, although less willing than men to help strangers, according to prior research, are also the primary "kin keepers"). We solicited help from 2960 email addressees, with the request ostensibly coming from a same-sex person sharing both, either, or neither of the addressee''s first and last names. As anticipated, addressees were most likely to respond helpfully when senders shared both their names (12.3%) and least likely when they shared neither (2.0%), and this was especially true for relatively uncommon names. A shared surname was more effective than a shared first name only if it was relatively uncommon. Women were substantially more likely to reply than men. These results indicate that names elicit altruism because they function as salient cues of kinship.     

On the impact of sex and birth order on contact with kin

Previous research indicates that birth order is a strong predictor of familial sentiments, with middleborns less family-oriented than first- or last-borns. In this research, effects of sex and birth order on the actual frequency of contact with maternal and paternal kin were examined in two studies. In Study 1, one hundred and forty undergraduates completed a questionnaire relating to the amount of time they spent in contact with specific relatives, while in Study 2, one hundred and twelve undergraduates completed the same questionnaire with the addition of two questions relating to the subjects’ parents’ birth orders. Subjects were more likely to have frequent contact with maternal, as opposed to paternal, kin and women experienced more frequent contact than men with relatives in general. The birth order of subjects did not appear to have a significant influence on contact but the birth order of the subjects’ parents did, with the offspring of middleborn mothers having relatively little contact with maternal grandparents and the offspring of middleborn fathers having relatively little contact with paternal grandparents. These sex and birth order differences are discussed in relation to possible differences in how women and men use kinship ties and in terms of how birth order may influence parental solicitude. Catherine Salmon recently received her Ph.D. in psychology from McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario. Her interest in kinship and family relationships has grown out of her own large extended family and many visits to Utah as well as exposure to evolutionary thinking about the family in the lab of Martin Daly and Margo Wilson. Her other current research interests focus on female sexuality and the evolutionary study of literature.     

Evolved gender differences in mate preferences: Evidence from personal advertisements

Evolutionary theorists have posited that contemporary men and women may differ in their specific psychological mechanisms having to do with mate selection because different strategies would have benefitted men versus women in our distant ancestral past. From these theorized gender differences in mating strategies, several hypotheses were generated and subsequently tested in the current study using a large sample of personal advertisements (N = 1111). The results were generally supportive of evolutionary predictions: men were more likely than women to offer financial resources and honesty/ sincerity, and to seek attractiveness, appealing body shape, and a photograph in selecting a potential mate; women were more likely than men to offer an appealing body shape and to seek financial resources, qualities likely to lead to resource acquisition, and honesty/sincerity in potential mates. Women were also more likely than men to seek male friendship and/or companionship and to offer greater involvement only after the establishment of such friendship, whereas men more frequently than women made explicit requests for a sexual relationship. In general, men sought potential mates who were younger than themselves, a trend which became more pronounced among older advertisers. Women generally sought mates who were older than themselves, a trend which decreased slightly with the age of the advertiser. Results are discussed with regard to implications for hypothesized gender differences in evolved psychological mechanisms.     

Intralocus sexual conflict over human height

Intralocus sexual conflict (IASC) occurs when a trait under selection in one sex constrains the other sex from achieving its sex-specific fitness optimum. Selection pressures on body size often differ between the sexes across many species, including humans: among men individuals of average height enjoy the highest reproductive success, while shorter women have the highest reproductive success. Given its high heritability, IASC over human height is likely. Using data from sibling pairs from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we present evidence for IASC over height: in shorter sibling pairs (relatively) more reproductive success (number of children) was obtained through the sister than through the brother of the sibling pair. By contrast, in average height sibling pairs most reproductive success was obtained through the brother relative to the sister. In conclusion, we show that IASC over a heritable, sexually dimorphic physical trait (human height) affects Darwinian fitness in a contemporary human population.     

Offspring are lighter at birth and smaller in adulthood when born after a brother versus a sister in humans

In mammals, including humans, it is more costly to produce sons than it is to produce daughters, with maternal survival and subsequent reproductive success diminished more by producing male over female offspring. It is therefore predicted that offspring who are produced by mothers who have previously produced sons versus daughters will be compromised by the relatively high cost their mother incurred in the previous reproductive episode. Such effects are potentially important because characters that determine offspring survival and fecundity ultimately contribute to maternal fitness. Using questionnaire-based data from a contemporary human population, I show that birthweight (irrespective of their sex) is lower in individuals born after an elder brother than in those born after an elder sister. In addition, I show that both men and women who were born after a male versus a female sibling have reduced adulthood height, a known correlate of reproductive success in both sexes. The results suggest that producing sons may have a negative effect on the fitness of subsequent offspring, which has implications for calculations of maternal fitness and for optimal sex allocation.     

Gender differences in health-related quality of life among healthy aged and old-aged austrians: Cross-sectional analysis

Background: Although they experience lower mortality rates and lower rates of several chronic diseases than do their male counterparts, aging women are more likely to experience functional impairment in mobility and a general diminished health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The determinants of these gender differences have been the subject of controversy.Objective: This study analyzed gender differences in HRQoL in relation to social and biomedical factors such as age, marital status, educational level, and living arrangements.Methods: Participants were recruited via snowball sampling. All were healthy and lived independently in private homes. Data were obtained from personal interviews, based on a 30-item questionnaire, in the private homes of the participants. Additionally, HRQoL was assessed by means of the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) 26-item questionnaire, which contains 1 general health item, 1 general QoL item, and 24 specific items covering 4 broad domains: physical (DOM I), psychological (DOM II), social (DOM III), and environmental (DOM IV).Results: The participants (98 women, 62 men) enrolled in the study ranged in age from 57 to 95 years (mean [SD] age: 71.8 [8.6] years). The younger age group (aged 57-70 years) comprised 54 women and 25 men, and the older age group (aged >70 years) comprised 44 women and 37 men. Women aged ≤70 years rated their health and QoL significantly higher than did men in the same age group (P = 0.02). These women rated physical capacity (DOM I), social relationships (DOM III), and environment (DOM IV) higher, but not statistically significantly different, than did same-aged men. Women and men exhibited nearly identical psychological health (DOM II) values. Physical capacity (DOM I) differed significantly between women and men aged >70 years (P = 0.03). Women aged >70 years rated their QoL lower than their male counterparts did, although not significantly so. These women depended more on medical treatment, felt significantly less safe in everyday life (P = 0.03), and were less satisfied with themselves.The results of the multiple regression analyses suggest that gender may have a significant impact on general QoL for both age groups (P < 0.01 for the younger age group; P > 0.04 for the older age group). In these analyses, gender also had a significant impact on 2 domains, physical capacity and social relationships (P < 0.02 for both domains), among the participants of the younger age group.Conclusion: Depending on the age group (≤70 vs >70 years) in this small sample of Austrian women and men, gender influenced HRQoL.     

Factors affecting nutritional status in female adults in Dhaka slums, Bangladesh

This study looks at women from the slums in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh, where 54 percent of women's BMI was less than 18.5. Fifty percent of the Dhaka slum population lived below the poverty line. Logistic regression showed that women with income above 1,500 taka per capita were 1.78 times more likely to have a higher BMI (odds ratio 1.7863; CI = 0.671-3.639). Women with their own savings were 1.89 times more likely to have higher BMI (odds ratio 1.879; CI = 0.01163-1.6431). Women were 4.5 times more likely to have a higher BMI when food expenditure per capita above 559 taka per month (odds ratio 4.55; CI = 1.0302-8.0799). Women were 1.82 times more likely to have higher BMI when there was a break even situation in financial status (odds ratio 1.8212; CI = -015709-3.6285). Female headed households were 3.3 times more likely to have a higher BMI compared to women living in male headed households (odds ratio 3.2966; CI = 0.33711-6.25620). Women who work 15-23 days per month were 2.3 times more likely to have a higher BMI (odds ratio 2.33; CI = 0.1133-4.5600). Women who are the budget manager are 1.12 times more likely to have a higher BMI (odds ratio 1.125; CI = 0.29296-2.0966). Where as a husband who beats his wife is 1.83 more likely to have a poorer BMI (odds ratio 1.8312; CI = -3.72596-0.17508). Women who have no marriage documents and women who take days off due to illness less than 11 days per month were more likely to have a poorer BMI (odds ratio 0.5567; CI = -0.049339-2.8379; odds ratio 0.7569; CI = 0.183167-2.0002). Women's nutritional status and well being can influence their ability to provide for themselves and their families and the demonstration of a relationship between measures of women's autonomy and control in the household and women's nutritional status is an important indication of the importance of these sociological constructs. Women's participation in work outside the home may be a factor increasing their autonomy. The identification of relationships between women's autonomy and control and their physical well being should provide further leverage for policy change that will enable women to escape some traditional roles and to contribute as more equal partners with men in the future of Bangladeshi society.     

Beliefs About Weight Gain and Attitudes Toward Relapse in a Sample of Women and Men with Obesity

Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine beliefs regarding reasons for weight gain, likely responses to weight loss relapse, notions of reasonable weight loss, and correlations between beliefs and attitudes in a large nonclinical sample of men and women with obesity. Research Methods and Procedures : Participants were 3,394 white women (n= 1,674) and men (n = 1,720) with obesity who had responded to a survey about body image and eating behaviors conducted by Consumer Reports magazine. Results : Women and men indicated that the most important reasons for their weight gain were lack of exercise and enjoying eating; the least important reason was a need to avoid social or sexual situations. Both groups reported that their most likely response to relapse is to start watching food intake, whereas their least likely response is to ask a friend, spouse, or family member for help. Women rated depression, stress, low self-esteem, and need to avoid situations as more important reasons for their weight gain than did men, and women were more likely to feel terrible and regain as a response to relapse. There was no relationship between an individual's beliefs about weight gain, responses to relapse, or notions of reasonable weight loss. Discussion : Implications of these findings for the treatment of obesity are discussed.     

Resources,attractiveness, family commitment; reproductive decisions in human mate choice

This study of reproductive decisions in human mate selection used data from "lonely hearts" advertisements to examine a series of predictions based on the mate preferences of male and females relating to age; physical appearance; financial condition and socioeconomic status; family commitment and personal traits; short- and long-term mating; and marital status and preexisting children. The sample consisted of 1000 personal advertisements (500 male) placed in two daily, national papers between February and October 1994 in Hungary. The research procedure included a pilot study of 150 advertisers (75 male) to refine the categories examined. Analysis was performed using 1) a matrix with one axis referring to offers and the other to demands of males and females separately; 2) a matrix of offers only to derive correlated traits of claims by males and females; and 3) a matrix with columns describing sex, offers, demands, advertiser's age, and required age and a row for each of the 1000 samples. It was found that men preferred younger mates, while women preferred older ones. Men were more likely to seek physical attractiveness, while women were more likely to seek financial resources (ranked 7th) and high status (ranked 6th). Women strongly preferred male domestic virtue and family commitment, and twice as many women as men demanded long-term relationships. Women more frequently declared preexisting children, and men exhibited a reluctance to accept these children. Both males and females employed "trade-off" strategies, making greater demands if they felt they had attractive offers.     

Validating Livanow: molecular data agree that leeches, Branchiobdellidans, and Acanthobdella peledina form a monophyletic group of oligochaetes.

To investigate the phylogenetic relationships of leeches, branchiobdellidans, and acanthobdellidans, whole nuclear 18S rDNA and over 650 bp of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I were acquired from 101 annelids, including 36 leeches, 18 branchiobdellidans, Acanthobdella peledina, as well as 28 oligochaetes and combined with homologous data for 17 polychaete outgroup taxa. Parsimony analysis of the combined aligned dataset supported monophyly of leeches, branchiobdellidans, and acanthobdellidans in 100% of jackknife replicates. Monophyly of the oligochaete order Lumbriculida with Acanthobdellida, Branchiobdellida, and Hirudinea was supported in 84% of jackknife replicates. These results provide support for the hypotheses that leeches and branchiobdellidans are sister groups, that acanthobdellidans are sister to them, and that together with the family Lumbriculidae they all constitute a clade within Oligochaeta. Results support synonymy of the classes Clitellata and the more commonly used Oligochaeta. Leeches branchiobdellidans, and acanthobdellidans should be regarded as orders equal to their closest relatives, the order Lumbriculida.     

Hospitalizations for HIV/AIDS: Differences between sexes

Background: Women are especially vulnerable to HIV infection because of biological, social, cultural, and economic factors. In Brazil, AIDS was initially seen predominantly in homosexual men, but the epidemic gradually reached a gender balance as increasing numbers of women became infected with HIV.Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of hospitalized patients with HIV/AIDS of both sexes and compare the differences between them.Methods: This epidemiologic cross-sectional study evaluated gender differences in demographic, social, clinical, and epidemiologic characteristics of patients diagnosed with HIV/AIDS who were admitted for any reason to the Public Hospital of the Medical School of the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.Results: A total of 363 patients were included in the analysis, with a male/female ratio of 1.1:1.0. Forty-one percent of women were pregnant. Mean age at hospitalization and duration of hospitalization were significantly greater among men (P<0.05). Men and nonpregnant women were admitted because of infection significantly more often than were pregnant women (P<0.05). Significantly more single men who reported homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual behavior associated with drug use were admitted compared with women (P<0.05). Women admitted for treatment were significantly more likely than men to be employed (P<0.05). Adherence to antiretroviral treatment and T CD4+ lymphocyte count indicated important differences between the sexes, with better parameters observed among nonpregnant and pregnant women compared with men.Conclusions: In the present study, women with HIV/AIDS who were admitted to the hospital for any reason were in better clinical condition compared with men. This observation may be partially explained by the proportion of pregnant women in the study population. These findings suggest that future studies should examine pregnant women with HIV/AIDS as a separate population group to avoid bias in analysis.     

Gender Differences in Owners Interacting with Pet Dogs: An Observational Study

Many studies show that people form strong affectional bonds with their dogs, treating them like family members or children. The present study investigates differences between women and men owners during interactions with their dogs, in a situation designed to investigate attachment and, thus, to promote emotional and affective responses: the Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Twenty‐five dog owners, 10 men and 15 women, were observed during free interactions with their pets in an adapted version of the ‘strange situation procedure’. Their behaviour towards their pets was videorecorded. Talking to the dog was evaluated together with the occurrence of affiliative and play behaviours. The owner's level of attachment to the dog was assessed using a questionnaire. Women and men differed in the use of verbal communication. Women talked more than men and had a shorter latency in starting talking. Their utterances resembled more closely infant‐directed speech or ‘motherese’. In contrast, there were no clear gender differences in affiliative and play behaviours. Both women and men engaged in play with their dogs and provided physical comfort. No differences emerged in the level of attachment reported by women and men owners in the questionnaire. These data support the hypothesis that the behaviour of modern pet owners towards their dogs is an interspecific parental behaviour, and suggest that behaviours evolved to provide care and comfort to human infants have been co‐opted for interacting with other social partners. The difference in verbal communication between women and men is in agreement with an evolutionary scenario suggesting a greater pre‐disposition in women to use language as a relational tool.     

Sex differences in obesity rates in poor countries: Evidence from South Africa

Globally, men and women face markedly different risks of obesity. In all but of handful of (primarily Western European) countries, obesity is much more prevalent among women than men. We examine several potential explanations for this phenomenon. We analyze differences between men and women in reports and effects of potential underlying causes of obesity—childhood and adult poverty, depression, and attitudes about obesity. We evaluate the evidence for each explanation using data collected in an urban African township in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Three factors explain the greater obesity rates we find among women. Women who were nutritionally deprived as children are significantly more likely to be obese as adults, while men who were deprived as children face no greater risk. In addition, women of higher adult socioeconomic status are significantly more likely to be obese, which is not true for men. These two factors - childhood circumstances and adult SES - can fully explain the difference in obesity rates between men and women that we find in our sample. More speculatively, in South Africa, women's perceptions of an ‘ideal’ female body are larger than men's perceptions of the ‘ideal’ male body, and individuals with larger ‘ideal’ body images are significantly more likely to be obese.     

Molecular phylogenetics and historical biogeography of Hawaiian Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae)

The fern genus Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae) is represented in the Hawaiian Islands by 18 endemic taxa and one non-endemic, native species. The goals of this study were to determine whether Dryopteris in Hawai'i is monophyletic and to infer the biogeographical origins of Hawaiian Dryopteris by determining the geographical distributions of their closest living relatives. We sequenced two chloroplast DNA fragments, rbcL and the trnL-F intergenic spacer (IGS), for 18 Hawaiian taxa, 45 non-Hawaiian taxa, and two outgroup species. For individual fragments, we estimated phylogenetic relationships using Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony. We performed a combined analysis of both cpDNA fragments employing Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood. These analyses indicate that Hawaiian Dryopteris is not monophyletic, and that there were at least five separate colonizations of the Hawaiian Islands by different species of dryopteroid ferns, with most of the five groups having closest relatives in SE Asia. The results suggest that one colonizing ancestor, perhaps from SE Asia, gave rise to eight endemic taxa (the glabra group). Another colonizing ancestor, also possibly from SE Asia, gave rise to a group of five endemic taxa (the exindusiate group). Dryopteris fusco-atra and its two varieties, which are endemic to Hawai'i, most likely diversified from a SE Asian ancestor. The Hawaiian endemic Nothoperanema rubiginosum has its closest relatives in SE Asia, and while the remaining two species, D. wallichiana and D. subbipinnata, are sister species, their biogeographical origins could not be determined from these analyses due to the widespread distributions of D. wallichiana and its closest non-Hawaiian relative.     

Gender Differences in Body Satisfaction

PINGITORE, REGINA, BONNIE SPRING, DAVID GARFIELD. Gender differences in body satisfaction. Although men and women show similar rates of obesity, women more frequently engage in weight loss efforts, with potentially adverse health consequences. We surveyed 320 college-aged men and women to examine gender differences in the determinants of body dissatisfaction and the degree of importance assigned to body-weight and shape. Results indicated that, for both genders, satisfaction with bodyweight and shape decreased as body mass index (BMI) increased. Women, however, showed significantly greater body and weight dissatisfaction than men at most weight categories. Only the underweight (BMI<20) women and men were similarly satisfied with their bodyweight and shape. As BMI increased, however, women became disproportionately more dissatisfied: both normal-weight and overweight women expressed greater dissatisfaction than comparable men. College-aged women also attributed progressively more importance to both weight and shape as BMI increased, unlike college-aged men, who considered body weight equally important to (or slightly less important than) self-esteem as BMI increased. We discuss implications for the self-esteem of obese women and men.     

Behavioral interventions for coronary heart disease patients

Introduction

There is a strong clinical need to provide effective stress reduction programs for patients with an acute coronary syndrome. Such programs for men have been implemented and their cardiovascular health benefit documented. For women such programs are scarce. In this report, The feasibility of a cognitive method that was recently demonstrated to prolong lives of women is tested. A setting with gender segregated groups was applied.

Method

The principles of a behavioural health educational program originally designed to attenuate the stress of patients with coronary prone behaviours were used as a basis for the intervention method. For the groups of female patients this method was tailored according to female stressors and for the groups of men according to male stressors. The same core stress reduction program was used for women and men, but the contents of discussions and responses to the pre planned program varied. These were continuously monitored throughout the fifteen sessions. Implementation group: Thirty consecutive patients, eleven women and nineteen men, hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome were included in this intervention. All expressed their need to learn how to cope with stress in daily life and were highly motivated. Five groups, three groups of men and two groups of women were formed. Psychological assessments were made immediately before and after completion of the program.

Results

No gender differences in the pre planned programs were found, but discussion styles varied between the women and men, Women were more open and more personal. Family issues were more frequent than job issues, although all women were employed outside their homes. Men talked about concrete and practical things, mostly about their jobs, and not directly about their feelings. Daily stresses of life decreased significantly for both men and women, but more so for women. Depressive thoughts were low at baseline, and there was no change over time. In contrast, anxiety scores were high at baseline and decreased significantly, but more so for women than for men.

Conclusion

Women are likely to benefit from women's groups. Men may prefer to have one or two women in the group, but women fare better in gender segregated groups.     

中国小蜂科属间系统发育关系分析(膜翅目:小蜂科)

利用Hennig86程序的nelsen合意和Phylip程序的多数规则合意2种支序分析方法,探讨了中国小蜂科的系统发育关系。基于中国21属的30个性状,计算得到2个合意树,其分类系统与传统分类系统基本保持一致。在进化关系和亲缘关系上表现为:小蜂属(Chalcis)、卡诺小蜂属(Conura)、大腿小蜂属(Brachymeria)和脊柄小蜂属(Epitranus)相对最为原始,而泰内小蜂属(Tainaniella)和背突小蜂属(Oxycoryphe)相对最为进化,前者和后者之间的亲缘关系最远;亲缘关系最近的有:泰内小蜂属(Tainaniella)和背突小蜂属(Oxycoryphe),泊卡小蜂属(Proconura)和日本小蜂属(Nipponochalcidia),小蜂属(Chalcis)和卡诺小蜂属(Conura)以及细尾小蜂属(Megalocolus)和三角小蜂属(Trigonura),它们分别构成姊妹群关系。     

Intersexual conflict across women's ovulatory cycle

A growing literature shows that the features women find particularly attractive in men vary across the ovulatory cycle. Women furthermore appear to more frequently report attraction to men other than primary partners when they are fertile in their cycle than in the infertile luteal phase. Previous studies have shown that men are more vigilant of or attentive to their primary partners during the fertile phase compared to the luteal phase. This study had several aims: First, to replicate and extend previous findings concerning men's vigilance of partners using male as well as female reports of men's behavior; second, to examine changes in women's behavior toward partners across the cycle; third, to examine ways in which women resist men's attempts to mate-guard across the cycle. Results indicate that (a) men are particularly self-assertive toward partners when their partners are fertile; (b) similarly, women are especially self-assertive toward partners when they are fertile; (c) women report engaging in more behaviors that resist male vigilance and mate guarding when they are fertile, especially in ways that are unobservable to male partners; and (d) these effects are especially strong when women themselves report greater attraction to men other than partners when they are fertile, compared to the luteal phase.