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Gutierrez-Castellanos N, Husain BFA, Dias IC, Lima SQ. Neural and behavioral plasticity across the female reproductive cycle. Trends Endocrinol Metab 2022; 33:769-785. [PMID: 36253276 DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2022.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Sex is fundamental for the evolution and survival of most species. However, sex can also pose danger, because it increases the risk of predation and disease transmission, among others. Thus, in many species, cyclic fluctuations in the concentration of sex hormones coordinate sexual receptivity and attractiveness with female reproductive capacity, promoting copulation when fertilization is possible and preventing it otherwise. In recent decades, numerous studies have reported a wide variety of sex hormone-dependent plastic rearrangements across the entire brain, including areas relevant for female sexual behavior. By contrast, how sex hormone-induced plasticity alters the computations performed by such circuits, such that collectively they produce the appropriate periodic switches in female behavior, is mostly unknown. In this review, we highlight the myriad sex hormone-induced neuronal changes known so far, the full repertoire of behavioral changes across the reproductive cycle, and the few examples where the relationship between sex hormone-dependent plasticity, neural activity, and behavior has been established. We also discuss current challenges to causally link the actions of sex hormones to the modification of specific cellular pathways and behavior, focusing on rodents as a model system while drawing a comparison between rodents and humans wherever possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Basma F A Husain
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Inês C Dias
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Q Lima
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal.
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2
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Třebický V, Havlíček J, Kleisner K. A replication that requires replication: Commentary on Caton et al. (2022). EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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3
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Variations in progesterone and estradiol across the menstrual cycle predict generosity toward socially close others. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 140:105720. [PMID: 35305405 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The human tendency to share goods with others at personal costs declines across the perceived social distance to them, an observation termed social discounting. Cumulating evidence suggests that social preferences are influenced by the agent's neurohormonal state. Here we tested whether endogenous fluctuations in steroid hormone compositions across the menstrual cycle were associated with differences in generosity in a social discounting task. Adult healthy, normally-cycling, women made incentivized decisions between high selfish rewards for themselves and lower generous rewards for themselves but also for other individuals at variable social distances from their social environment. We determined participants' current levels of menstrual-cycle-dependent steroid hormones via salivary sampling. Results revealed that the increase in progesterone levels as well as the decrease in estradiol levels, but not changes in testosterone or cortisol, across the menstrual cycle, accounted for increased generosity specifically toward socially close others, but not toward remote strangers.
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Borráz-León JI, Rantala MJ, Krams IA, Cerda-Molina AL, Contreras-Garduño J. Are Toxoplasma-infected subjects more attractive, symmetrical, or healthier than non-infected ones? Evidence from subjective and objective measurements. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13122. [PMID: 35356475 PMCID: PMC8958965 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Parasites are among the main factors that negatively impact the health and reproductive success of organisms. However, if parasites diminish a host's health and attractiveness to such an extent that finding a mate becomes almost impossible, the parasite would decrease its odds of reproducing and passing to the next generation. There is evidence that Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) manipulates phenotypic characteristics of its intermediate hosts to increase its spread. However, whether T. gondii manipulates phenotypic characteristics in humans remains poorly studied. Therefore, the present research had two main aims: (1) To compare traits associated with health and parasite resistance in Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects. (2) To investigate whether other people perceive differences in attractiveness and health between Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects of both sexes. Methods For the first aim, Toxoplasma-infected (n = 35) and non-infected subjects (n = 178) were compared for self-perceived attractiveness, number of sexual partners, number of minor ailments, body mass index, mate value, handgrip strength, facial fluctuating asymmetry, and facial width-to-height ratio. For the second aim, an independent group of 205 raters (59 men and 146 women) evaluated the attractiveness and perceived health of facial pictures of Toxoplasma-infected and non-infected subjects. Results First, we found that infected men had lower facial fluctuating asymmetry whereas infected women had lower body mass, lower body mass index, a tendency for lower facial fluctuating asymmetry, higher self-perceived attractiveness, and a higher number of sexual partners than non-infected ones. Then, we found that infected men and women were rated as more attractive and healthier than non-infected ones. Conclusions Our results suggest that some sexually transmitted parasites, such as T. gondii, may produce changes in the appearance and behavior of the human host, either as a by-product of the infection or as the result of the manipulation of the parasite to increase its spread to new hosts. Taken together, these results lay the foundation for future research on the manipulation of the human host by sexually transmitted pathogens and parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Indrikis A. Krams
- Department of Biotechnology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia,Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia,Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
| | - Ana Lilia Cerda-Molina
- Department of Ethology, National Institute of Psychiatry “Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz”, Mexico City, Mexico
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Jones BC, Jones AL, Shiramizu V, Anderson C. What Does Women's Facial Attractiveness Signal? Implications for an Evolutionary Perspective on Appearance Enhancement. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2022; 51:67-71. [PMID: 33733308 PMCID: PMC8858290 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-01955-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Benedict C Jones
- School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0LN, Scotland.
| | - Alex L Jones
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
| | - Victor Shiramizu
- Institute of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Claire Anderson
- Textile Design Programme, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London, London, England
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Davis AC, Arnocky S. Response to Commentaries: A Socioevolutionary Approach to Self-Presentation Modification. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2022; 51:85-100. [PMID: 34713430 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02170-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam C Davis
- Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Steven Arnocky
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay, ON, P1B 8L7, Canada.
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Changes in Facial Shape throughout Pregnancy—A Computational Exploratory Approach. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13101944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial cognition serves an important role in human daily interactions. It has been suggested that facial shape can serve as a signal for underlining biological condition, and that it is correlated with, among others, health, fertility, and attractiveness. In this study, 14 women were photographed during three consecutive trimesters of pregnancy, and the levels of their facial sexual dimorphism, asymmetry, and averageness were computed. Facial sexual dimorphism in first trimester was higher than in the second trimester (F(2, 22) = 5.77; p = 0.01; ηp2 = 0.34, post-hoc Tukey HSD test p = 0.007). Similar pattern was visible for asymmetry (F(2, 22) = 3.67; p = 0.04; ηp2 = 0.25, post-hoc Tukey HSD test p = 0.05). No statistically significant changes in measurement of averageness were observed. Results from Bayesian complementary analyses confirmed the observed effects for sexual dimorphism. The evidence for trimester differences in asymmetry and averageness was inconsequential. Based on the preliminary results of this exploratory study, we suggest that previously found decrease in observed facial attractiveness during pregnancy can be related to the decrease in computed facial femininity (possibly mediated by the changes in facial adiposity).
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Marcinkowska UM, Jones BC, Cai H, Contreras-Garduno J, Onyishi IE, Orjiakor CT, Prasai K, Pazhoohi F, Taniguchi H, Lee AJ. An exploratory, cross-cultural study on perception of putative cyclical changes in facial fertility cues. Sci Rep 2021; 11:16911. [PMID: 34413430 PMCID: PMC8377019 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96454-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many researchers have argued that facial traits evolved as honest cues to women's current fertility (possibly via changes in facial femininity), evidence that women's facial attractiveness is significantly, positively related to probability of conception throughout menstrual cycle is mixed. These mixed results could reflect differences among studies in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness (i.e., forced choice versus rating-scale methods), differences in how fertility was assessed, differences in perceiver characteristics (e.g., their own attractiveness), and facial preferences possibly being moderated by the characteristics of the living environment. Consequently, the current study investigated the putative effect of cyclical changes in fertility on women's facial attractiveness and femininity (1) using forced choice and rating-scale method, (2) conducting both ovulation tests and repeated daily measures of estradiol assessing the conception probability, (3) based on a culturally diverse sample of perceivers, while (4) controlling for inter-individual variation. Although we found some limited evidence that women's faces became more attractive when conception probability increased, these effects differed depending on the methods used to assess both attractiveness and fertility. Moreover, where statistically significant effects were observed, the effect sizes were extremely small. Similarly, there was little robust evidence that perceivers' characteristics reliably predicted preferences for fertility cues. Collectively, these results suggest that mixed results in previous studies examining cyclical fluctuation in women's facial attractiveness are unlikely to reflect inter-cultural differences and are more likely to reflect differences in the methods used to assess facial attractiveness and fertility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benedict C Jones
- School of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Huaijan Cai
- Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Ike E Onyishi
- Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
| | | | | | - Farid Pazhoohi
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Anthony J Lee
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK
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Oxidative stress as a hidden cost of attractiveness in postmenopausal women. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21970. [PMID: 33319813 PMCID: PMC7738509 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76627-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceived facial attractiveness, a putative marker of high biological fitness, is costly to maintain throughout a lifetime and may cause higher oxidative stress (OS). We investigated the association between the facial features of 97 postmenopausal women and their levels of OS biomarkers 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). In study 1, 966 judges rated the composites (facial averages) of women with higher OS as more attractive, healthier, younger, and less symmetric. In study 2, Geometric Morphometric analysis did not reveal significant differences in facial morphology depending on OS levels. In study 3, measured facial averageness and symmetry were weakly negatively related to 8-OHdG levels. Maintaining higher perceived facial attractiveness may be costly due to increased oxidative damage in the postmenopausal period. These costs may remain hidden during the reproductive period of life due to the protective mechanisms of oxidative shielding and revealed only after menopause when shielding has ceased.
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Miłkowska K, Nenko I, Klimek M, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G. Season of birth and biomarkers of early-life environment. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23532. [PMID: 33166028 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Early-life conditions play an important role in human development, affecting health status and survival. Conditions in utero partly depend on the external environment and thus vary in relation to the season of birth. The aim of this study was to investigate if people born in different seasons of the year differ in values of biomarkers that reflect conditions during fetal development. METHODS The study was conducted among Polish rural women recruited at the Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site. The participants were 234 women aged 45 to 92 (mean = 60.2; SD = 10.44). The indicators of early-life environment analyzed in the study were: Absolute Finger Ridge Count (AFRC), the difference between mean number of ridge counts in both thumbs and both little fingers (Md15), overall facial fluctuating asymmetry (OFA), central facial asymmetry (CFA), right and left hand 2D:4D. RESULTS Values of biomarkers of fetal development did not vary among groups of women born in different seasons of the year. CONCLUSIONS Lack of differences in values of biomarkers according to birth season may indicate that: (a) season of birth is not a good indicator of early-life conditions; (b) tested biomarkers do not reliably reflect the prenatal environment; (c) season of birth does not fully overlap with the sensitive periods of biomarker development and thus fails to capture differences in developmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Miłkowska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Ilona Nenko
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Klimek
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
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Żelaźniewicz A, Nowak J, Pawłowski B. Birth size and morphological femininity in adult women. BMC Evol Biol 2020; 20:102. [PMID: 32799803 PMCID: PMC7429686 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-01670-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Women's morphological femininity is perceived to develop under the influence of sex hormones and to serve as a cue of estradiol level, fertility and health in mating context. However, as the studies on direct relationship between femininity and sex steroid levels have reported mixed results, it is still not well understood what factors contribute to inter-women variation in morphological femininity. Epidemiological studies show that indicators of adverse conditions during intrauterine growth and development in utero, such as low birthweight or relative thinness at birth, influence women's physiology ovarian functioning and may be associated with life-time exposure to estradiol in women. Thus, here we tested if birth parameters are also related with the level of morphological femininity in adult women. RESULTS One hundred sixty-five healthy women of mean age 28.47 years (SD = 2.39) participated in the study. Facial femininity was estimated based on facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) and facial shape sexual dimorphism measured in the photos. Body femininity was estimated based on waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and breast size. Birth weight and birth length were obtained from medical records and ponderal index at birth was calculated. No relationship between birth parameters and facial or body femininity in women of reproductive age was found, also when controlled for adult sex steroid levels and BMI. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that, although previous research showed that birth parameters predict reproductive development and adult oestradiol level, they do not explain the variance in morphological femininity in women of reproductive age, trait that is thought to be a cue of a woman's estradiol level and fertility in mating context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, ul. Kuźnicza 35, 50-138, Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Judyta Nowak
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, ul. Kuźnicza 35, 50-138, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Bogusław Pawłowski
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, ul. Kuźnicza 35, 50-138, Wrocław, Poland
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Danel DP, Kalinowski K, Nowak-Szczepanska N, Ziomkiewicz-Wichary A, Apanasewicz A, Borysławski K, Kozieł S, Kornafel D, Fedurek P. Shifts in Female Facial Attractiveness during Pregnancy. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17145176. [PMID: 32709046 PMCID: PMC7400433 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17145176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
It has been proposed that women’s physical attractiveness is a cue to temporal changes in fertility. If this is the case, we should observe shifts in attractiveness during pregnancy—a unique physiological state of temporal infertility. The aim of this study was to examine how women’s facial attractiveness changes during the subsequent trimesters of pregnancy and how it compares to that of nonpregnant women. Sixty-six pictures of pregnant women (22 pictures per trimester) and 22 of nonpregnant women (a control group) were used to generate four composite portraits, which were subsequently assessed for facial attractiveness by 117 heterosexual men. The results show considerable differences between facial attractiveness ratings depending on the status and progress of pregnancy. Nonpregnant women were perceived as the most attractive, and the attractiveness scores of pregnant women decreased throughout the course of pregnancy. Our findings show that facial attractiveness can be influenced by pregnancy and that gestation, even at its early stages, affects facial attractiveness. Considerable changes in women’s physiology that occur during pregnancy may be responsible for the observed effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dariusz P. Danel
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (N.N.-S.); (A.Z.-W.); (A.A.); (S.K.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-71-343-86-75
| | | | - Natalia Nowak-Szczepanska
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (N.N.-S.); (A.Z.-W.); (A.A.); (S.K.)
| | - Anna Ziomkiewicz-Wichary
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (N.N.-S.); (A.Z.-W.); (A.A.); (S.K.)
- Department of Anthropology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
| | - Anna Apanasewicz
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (N.N.-S.); (A.Z.-W.); (A.A.); (S.K.)
| | - Krzysztof Borysławski
- Department of Anthropology, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-631 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Sławomir Kozieł
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; (N.N.-S.); (A.Z.-W.); (A.A.); (S.K.)
| | - Danuta Kornafel
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Pawel Fedurek
- Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA Stirling, UK;
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