Both attractiveness judgements and mate preferences vary considerably cross-culturally. We investigated whether men's preference for femininity in women's faces varies between 28 countries with diverse health conditions by analysing responses of 1972 heterosexual participants. Although men in all countries preferred feminized over masculinized female faces, we found substantial differences between countries in the magnitude of men's preferences. Using an average femininity preference for each country, we found men's facial femininity preferences correlated positively with the...

Background: Longitudinal studies examining mental health trajectories in refugees and asylum seekers are scarce. Objectives: To investigate trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing in refugees and asylum seekers, and identify factors associated with these trajectories. Method: 912 asylum seekers and refugees from the control arm of three trials in Europe (n = 229), Turkey (n = 320), and Uganda (n = 363) were included. We described trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing, and used trauma...

Abstract Background Previous investigations carried out in ultramafic habitats emphasized the greater importance of site conditions over soil toxic metal content for vegetation composition. Very little is known about the floristic structure of the Southern Carpathian ultramafic grasslands and there is no information on the local environmental drivers of their composition and coenotic features. Here, we aim to fill these knowledge gaps by referring to similar phytocoenoses described in the Balkan Peninsula and central Europe....

It is a well-known fact that the city of Cluj-Napoca in Romania has a diverse geological stratification, based on the geological data and studies performed on the soil by geologists. Also, the measurements and studies performed of radon in soil conclude the fact that in certain parts, the geological formations lead to a higher concentration of geogenic radon, thus making the soil in this area a radon prone hotspot. The following presentation aims to show...

Hypersaline meromictic lakes are extreme environments in which water stratification is associated with powerful physicochemical gradients and high salt concentrations. Furthermore, their physical stability coupled with vertical water column partitioning makes them important research model systems in microbial niche differentiation and biogeochemical cycling. Here, we compare the prokaryotic assemblages from Ursu and Fara Fund hypersaline meromictic lakes (Transylvanian Basin, Romania) in relation to their limnological factors and infer their role in elemental cycling by matching...

In this study I am focussing on the self-image that eighteenth-century Habsburg sovereigns, especially Maria Theresa and Joseph II, disseminated among the Romanian communities in Transylvania, via the Greek-Catholic Church, in order to strengthen the loyalty of their subjects. I also examine the means of communication with the Romanian subjects and the latter’s reaction to the dynastic identities circulated throughout the principality. My intention is to capture the changes and innovations that occurred in Romanian...

Questions Germination is the prerequisite of successful establishment in plant communities and is influenced by many factors. Therefore, seeds are under strong selective pressure to sense and integrate information about their environment and modulate germination based on them. In this study, we focus on interspecific seed-seed interactions under optimal and sub-optimal conditions to test three hypotheses: (H1) Dominant species’ seeds and emerging seedlings are most likely to be recognized and insert significant effect on the...

Dragastanella transylvanica n.gen. n.sp. is described. Its calcified skeleton contains numerous voids, partly related to the moulds of soft parts of the alga, but also to lack of calcification. Interpretation of these voids, especially their attribution to original structures (e.g., primary lateral vs. reproductive organ), has important implications for the taxonomic position of the alga, even at family level. Examination of key sections that include the boundary between sterile and fertile parts of the alga...

This study aimed to analyze the role of social capital and leadership in improving the adaptive capacity of Iranian pistachio farmers by using Social Network Analysis (SNA). The results indicate that the studied network is not a dense network, and there are few reciprocal and face-to-face relations among farmers. The findings also illustrate that in all cooperative links, there were no noticeable bridging links among the farmers and their tendency toward bonding links, indicating less...

We compared DNA, pollen and macrofossil data obtained from Weichselian interstadial and Holocene (maximum age 8400 cal yr BP) peat sediments from northern Europe and used them to reconstruct contemporary floristic compositions at two sites. The majority of the samples provided plant DNA sequences of good quality with success amplification rates depending on age. DNA and sequencing analysis provided five plant taxa from the older site and nine taxa from the younger site, corresponding to...

Large brains (relative to body size) might confer fitness benefits to animals. Although the putative costs of well-developed brains can constrain the majority of species to modest brain sizes, these costs are still poorly understood. Given that the neural tissue is energetically expensive and demands antioxidants, one potential cost of developing and maintaining large brains is increased oxidative stress (‘oxidation exposure’ hypothesis). Alternatively, because large-brained species exhibit slow-paced life histories, they are expected to invest...

Variation in intensity and targets of sexual selection on multiple traits has been suggested to play a major role in promoting phenotypic differentiation between populations, although the divergence in selection may depend on year, local conditions or age. In this study, we quantified sexual selection for two putative sexual signals across two Central and East European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica rustica) populations from Czech Republic and Romania over multiple years. We then related these differences...

Down feathers are the first feather types that appear in both the phylogenetic and the ontogenetic history of birds. Although it is widely acknowledged that the primary function of downy elements is insulation, little is known about the interspecific variability in the structural morphology of these feathers, and the environmental factors that have influenced their evolution. Here, we collected samples of down and afterfeathers from 156 bird species and measured key morphological characters that define...

Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are significant regulators of homeostasis. The physiological effects of GCs critically depend on the time of exposure (short vs. long) as well as on their circulating levels (baseline vs. stress-induced). Previous experiments, in which chronic and high elevation of GC levels was induced, indicate that GCs impair both the activity of the immune system and the oxidative balance. Nonetheless, our knowledge on how mildly elevated GC levels, a situation much more common...

We report new maxima of vascular plant species richness ever recorded in 10-m2 plots (115 and 110 species in two adjacent plots). Both come from a steppe meadow at a well-known site Valea Lui Craiu, located in the Fânaţele Clujului grassland complex close to the city of Cluj in Transylvania, Romania, where maximum values have been observed before. We also correct the previously pub-lished maximum of 106 species, which was recorded in a 10.9-m2 plot...

In: Daniela Haarmann / Konrad Petrovszky (eds.), Language and Society in 18th Century South Eastern Europe / Sprache und Gesellschaft in Südosteuropa im 18. Jahrhundert, Yearbook of the Society for 18th Century Studies on South Eastern Europe 3 (2020), 142–162.

We studied 11 widespread herbaceous invasive alien species of East-Central Europe and their 16 impact metrics (resident plant communities’ ecological characteristics, trait composition, functional diversity, and soil parameters) by sampling invaded and similar, uninvaded sites (space-for-time substitution method). Our aim was to (1) investigate the detailed ecological impacts of invasive plants on native plant communities; (2) explore the type of cover-impact relationships across impact metrics and their consistency across species; (3) study whether the cover-impact...

Additional file 2: Appendix S2. Photos of the studied serpentine vegetation in the South-Eastern Carpathians (Romania). (A) Thermophilous phytocoenosis from the Mehedinți Plateau, with Asplenium serpentini and Notholaena marantae (photo: I. Ciortan, 04.07.2017). (B) and (C) Typical serpentine plant species from the Mehedinți Mts., showing Plantago serpentina and respectively, Armeria halleri (photo: I. Ciortan, 05.07.2017). (D) Open communities dominated by Plantago holosteum, Anthemis cretica subsp. kitaibelii and Minuartia frutescens on antigorite-rich rocks from the northern...

Additional file 2: Appendix S2. Photos of the studied serpentine vegetation in the South-Eastern Carpathians (Romania). (A) Thermophilous phytocoenosis from the Mehedinți Plateau, with Asplenium serpentini and Notholaena marantae (photo: I. Ciortan, 04.07.2017). (B) and (C) Typical serpentine plant species from the Mehedinți Mts., showing Plantago serpentina and respectively, Armeria halleri (photo: I. Ciortan, 05.07.2017). (D) Open communities dominated by Plantago holosteum, Anthemis cretica subsp. kitaibelii and Minuartia frutescens on antigorite-rich rocks from the northern...

This report provides an overview of the forest vegetation and the status of its conservation in Romania. Due to a large range of climates and soils, and a long-lasting postglacial vegetation history, the Romanian forests are highly diverse and species-rich ecosystems. Approximately 150 natural types of forest ecosystems have been described. Seven zonal forest formations were distinguished: (1) forest steppes and dry oak forests; (2) forests with Oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis); (3) forests with oaks...

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-isp-10.1177_00207640221132430 for Risk factors for mental disorder development in asylum seekers and refugees resettled in Western Europe and Turkey: Participant-level analysis of two large prevention studies by Corrado Barbui, Federico Tedeschi, Ceren Acarturk, Minna Anttila, Teresa Au, Josef Baumgartner, Ken Carswell, Rachel Churchill, Pim Cuijpers, Eirini Karyotaki, Thomas Klein, Markus Koesters, Tella Lantta, Michela Nosè, Giovanni Ostuzzi, Massimo Pasquini, Eleonora Prina, Marit Sijbrandij, Lorenzo Tarsitani, Giulia Turrini, Ersin Uygun, Maritta Välimäki, Lauren Walker,...

1. The functional significance of intra- and interspecific structural variations in the flight feathers of birds is poorly understood. Here, a phylogenetic comparative analysis of four structural features (rachis width, barb and barbule density and porosity) of proximal and distal primary feathers of 137 European bird species was conducted. 2. Flight type (flapping and soaring, flapping and gliding, continuous flapping or passerine type), habitat (terrestrial, riparian or aquatic), wing characteristics (wing area, S and aspect...

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims at the conservation of all three levels of biodiversity, i.e. ecosystems, species and genes. Genetic diversity represents evolutionary potential and is important for ecosystem functioning. Unfortunately, genetic diversity in natural populations is hardly considered in conservation strategies because it is difficult to measure and has been hypothesized to co-vary with species richness. This means that species richness is taken as a surrogate of genetic diversity in conservation planning,...

The relative importance of global versus local environmental factors for growth and thus carbon uptake of the bryophyte genus Sphagnum – the main peat-former and ecosystem engineer in northern peatlands – remains unclear. 2) We measured length growth and net primary production (NPP) of two abundant Sphagnum species across 99 Holarctic peatlands. We tested the importance of previously proposed abiotic and biotic drivers for peatland carbon uptake (climate, N deposition, water table depth, and vascular...

Social groups often consist of diverse phenotypes, including personality types, and this diversity is known to affect the functioning of the group as a whole. Social selection theory proposes that group composition (i.e. social environment) also influences the performance of individual group members. However, the effect of group behavioural composition on group members remains largely unexplored, and it is still contentious whether individuals benefit more in a social environment with homogeneous or diverse behavioural composition....