Prelinguistic human infants and great apes show different communicative strategies in a triadic request situation.

PubMed

Gretscher, Heinz; Tempelmann, Sebastian; Haun, Daniel B M; Liebal, Katja; Kaminski, Juliane

2017-01-01

In the present research, we investigate the communicative strategies of 20 month old human infants and great apes when requesting rewards from a human experimenter. Infants and apes both adapted their signals to the attentional state of the experimenter as well as to the location of the reward. Yet, while infants frequently positioned themselves in front of the experimenter and pointed towards a distant reward, apes either remained in the experimenter's line of sight and pointed towards him or moved out of sight and pointed towards the reward. Further, when pointing towards a reward that was placed at a distance from the experimenter, only the infants, and not the apes, took the experimenter's attentional state into account. These results demonstrate that prelinguistic human infants and nonhuman apes use different means when guiding others' attention to a location; indicating that differing cognitive mechanisms may underlie their pointing gestures.

The vertebral remains of the late Miocene great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus from Can Llobateres 2 (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula).

PubMed

Susanna, Ivette; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2014-08-01

Here we describe the vertebral fragments from the partial skeleton IPS18800 of the fossil great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus (Hominidae: Dryopithecinae) from the late Miocene (9.6 Ma) of Can Llobateres 2 (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain). The eight specimens (IPS18800.5-IPS18800.12) include a fragment of thoracic vertebral body, three partial bodies and four neural arch fragments of lumbar vertebrae. Despite the retention of primitive features (moderately long lumbar vertebral bodies with slightly concave ventrolateral sides), these specimens display a suite of derived, modern hominoid-like features: thoracic vertebrae with dorsally-situated costal foveae; lumbar vertebrae with non-ventrally-oriented transverse processes originating from a robust pedicle, caudally-long laminae with caudally-oriented spinous process, elliptical end-plates, and moderately stout bodies reduced in length and with no ventral keel. These features, functionally related to orthograde behaviors, are indicative of a broad and shallow thorax with a moderately short and stiff lumbar region in Hispanopithecus. Despite its large body mass (ca. 39-40 kg), its vertebral morphology is more comparable to that of hylobatids and Ateles than to extant great apes. This is confirmed by our morphometric analyses, also indicating that Hispanopithecus most closely resembles Pierolapithecus and Morotopithecus among Miocene apes, whereas Proconsul and Nacholapithecus resemble pronograde monkeys. Only in a few features (craniocaudally short and transversely wide pedicles, transverse processes situated on the pedicle, and slight ventral wedging), Hispanopithecus is more derived towards the extant great ape condition than other Miocene apes. Overall, the vertebral morphology of Hispanopithecus supports previous inferences of an orthograde body plan with suspensory and climbing adaptations. However, given similarities with Ateles and the retention of a longer and more flexible spine than in extant great apes, the Hispanopithecus morphology is also consistent with some degree of above-branch quadrupedalism, as previously inferred from other anatomical regions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Skeletal development of hallucal tarsometatarsal joint curvature and angulation in extant apes and modern humans.

PubMed

Gill, Corey M; Bredella, Miriam A; DeSilva, Jeremy M

2015-11-01

The medial cuneiform, namely the curvature and angulation of its distal facet with metatarsal 1, is crucial as a stabilizer in bipedal locomotion and an axis upon which the great toe medially deviates during arboreal locomotion in extant apes. Previous work has shown that facet curvature and angulation in adult dry-bone specimens can distinguish African apes from Homo, and can even distinguish among species of Gorilla. This study provides the first ontogenetic assessment of medial cuneiform curvature and angulation in juvenile (n = 68) and adult specimens (n = 102) using computed tomography in humans and extant ape specimens, including Pongo. Our data find that modern human juveniles initially have a convex and slightly medially oriented osseous surface of the developing medial cuneiform distal facet that flattens and becomes more distally oriented with age. The same pattern (though of a different magnitude) occurs developmentally in the chimpanzee medial cuneiform, but not in Gorilla or Pongo, whose medial cuneiform facet angulation remains unchanged ontogenetically. These data suggest that the medial cuneiform ossifies in a distinguishable pattern between Pongo, Gorilla, Pan, and Homo, which may in part be due to subtle differences in the loading environment at the hallucal tarsometatarsal joint-a finding that has important implications for interpreting fossil medial cuneiforms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scaled-Up Fabrication of Thin-Walled ZK60 Tubing using Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whalen, Scott A.; Joshi, Vineet V.; Overman, Nicole R.

Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) has been scaled-up and applied to direct extrusion of thin-walled magnesium tubing. Using ShAPE, billets of ZK60A-T5 were directly extruded into round tubes having an outer diameter of 50.8 mm and wall thickness of 1.52 mm. The severe shearing conditions inherent to ShAPE resulted in microstructural refinement with an average grain size of 3.8μm measured at the midpoint of the tube wall. Tensile testing per ATSM E-8 on specimens oriented parallel to the extrusion direction gave an ultimate tensile strength of 254.4 MPa and elongation of 20.1%. Specimens tested perpendicular to the extrusion directionmore » had an ultimate tensile strength of 297.2 MPa and elongation of 25.0%. Due to material flow effects resulting from the simultaneous linear and rotational shear intrinsic to ShAPE, ram force and electrical power consumption during extrusion were just 40 kN and 11.5 kW respectively. This represents a significant reduction in ram force and power consumption compared to conventional extrusion. As such, there is potential for ShAPE to offer a scalable, lower cost extrusion option with potentially improved bulk mechanical properties.« less

Primate TNF Promoters Reveal Markers of Phylogeny and Evolution of Innate Immunity

PubMed Central

Baena, Andres; Ligeiro, Filipa; Diop, Ousmane M.; Brieva, Claudia; Gagneux, Pascal; O'Brien, Stephen J.; Ryder, Oliver A.; Goldfeld, Anne E.

2007-01-01

Background Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a critical cytokine in the immune response whose transcriptional activation is controlled by a proximal promoter region that is highly conserved in mammals and, in particular, primates. Specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) upstream of the proximal human TNF promoter have been identified, which are markers of human ancestry. Methodology/Principal findings Using a comparative genomics approach we show that certain fixed genetic differences in the TNF promoter serve as markers of primate speciation. We also demonstrate that distinct alleles of most human TNF promoter SNPs are identical to fixed nucleotides in primate TNF promoters. Furthermore, we identify fixed genetic differences within the proximal TNF promoters of Asian apes that do not occur in African ape or human TNF promoters. Strikingly, protein-DNA binding assays and gene reporter assays comparing these Asian ape TNF promoters to African ape and human TNF promoters demonstrate that, unlike the fixed differences that we define that are associated with primate phylogeny, these Asian ape-specific fixed differences impair transcription factor binding at an Sp1 site and decrease TNF transcription induced by bacterial stimulation of macrophages. Conclusions/significance Here, we have presented the broadest interspecies comparison of a regulatory region of an innate immune response gene to date. We have characterized nucleotide positions in Asian ape TNF promoters that underlie functional changes in cell type- and stimulus-specific activation of the TNF gene. We have also identified ancestral TNF promoter nucleotide states in the primate lineage that correspond to human SNP alleles. These findings may reflect evolution of Asian and African apes under a distinct set of infectious disease pressures involving the innate immune response and TNF. PMID:17637837

Investigating the Structural Impacts of I64T and P311S Mutations in APE1-DNA Complex: A Molecular Dynamics Approach

PubMed Central

Doss, C. George Priya; NagaSundaram, N.

2012-01-01

Background Elucidating the molecular dynamic behavior of Protein-DNA complex upon mutation is crucial in current genomics. Molecular dynamics approach reveals the changes on incorporation of variants that dictate the structure and function of Protein-DNA complexes. Deleterious mutations in APE1 protein modify the physicochemical property of amino acids that affect the protein stability and dynamic behavior. Further, these mutations disrupt the binding sites and prohibit the protein to form complexes with its interacting DNA. Principal Findings In this study, we developed a rapid and cost-effective method to analyze variants in APE1 gene that are associated with disease susceptibility and evaluated their impacts on APE1-DNA complex dynamic behavior. Initially, two different in silico approaches were used to identify deleterious variants in APE1 gene. Deleterious scores that overlap in these approaches were taken in concern and based on it, two nsSNPs with IDs rs61730854 (I64T) and rs1803120 (P311S) were taken further for structural analysis. Significance Different parameters such as RMSD, RMSF, salt bridge, H-bonds and SASA applied in Molecular dynamic study reveals that predicted deleterious variants I64T and P311S alters the structure as well as affect the stability of APE1-DNA interacting functions. This study addresses such new methods for validating functional polymorphisms of human APE1 which is critically involved in causing deficit in repair capacity, which in turn leads to genetic instability and carcinogenesis. PMID:22384055

Quantitative Analyses about Market- and Prevalence-Based Needs for Adapted Physical Education Teachers in the Public Schools in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jiabei

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze quantitative needs for more adapted physical education (APE) teachers based on both market- and prevalence-based models. The market-based need for more APE teachers was examined based on APE teacher positions funded, while the prevalence-based need for additional APE teachers was analyzed based on students…

The evolution of vertebral formulae in Hominoidea.

PubMed

Thompson, Nathan E; Almécija, Sergio

2017-09-01

Primate vertebral formulae have long been investigated because of their link to locomotor behavior and overall body plan. Knowledge of the ancestral vertebral formulae in the hominoid tree of life is necessary to interpret the pattern of evolution among apes, and to critically evaluate the morphological adaptations involved in the transition to hominin bipedalism. Though many evolutionary hypotheses have been proposed based on living and fossil species, the application of quantitative phylogenetic methods for thoroughly reconstructing ancestral vertebral formulae and formally testing patterns of vertebral evolution is lacking. To estimate the most probable scenarios of hominoid vertebral evolution, we utilized an iterative ancestral state reconstruction approach to determine likely ancestral vertebral counts in apes, humans, and other anthropoid out-groups. All available ape and hominin fossil taxa with an inferred regional vertebral count were included in the analysis. Sensitivity iterations were performed both by changing the phylogenetic position of fossil taxa with a contentious placement, and by changing the inferred number of vertebrae in taxa with uncertain morphology. Our ancestral state reconstruction results generally support a short-backed hypothesis of human evolution, with a Pan-Homo last common ancestor possessing a vertebral formulae of 7:13:4:6 (cervical:thoracic:lumbar:sacral). Our results indicate that an initial reduction in lumbar vertebral count and increase in sacral count is a synapomorphy of crown hominoids (supporting an intermediate-backed hypothesis for the origins of the great ape-human clade). Further reduction in lumbar count occurs independently in orangutans and African apes. Our results highlight the complexity and homoplastic nature of vertebral count evolution, and give little support to the long-backed hypothesis of human evolution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An APE1 inhibitor reveals critical roles of the redox function of APE1 in KSHV replication and pathogenic phenotypes

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Xu, Jun

2017-01-01

APE1 is a multifunctional protein with a DNA base excision repair function in its C-terminal domain and a redox activity in its N-terminal domain. The redox function of APE1 converts certain transcription factors from inactive oxidized to active reduced forms. Given that among the APE1-regulated transcription factors many are critical for KSHV replication and pathogenesis, we investigated whether inhibition of APE1 redox function blocks KSHV replication and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) phenotypes. With an shRNA-mediated silencing approach and a known APE-1 redox inhibitor, we demonstrated that APE1 redox function is indeed required for KSHV replication as well as KSHV-induced angiogenesis, validating APE1 as a therapeutic target for KSHV-associated diseases. A ligand-based virtual screening yielded a small molecular compound, C10, which is proven to bind to APE1. C10 exhibits low cytotoxicity but efficiently inhibits KSHV lytic replication (EC50 of 0.16 μM and selective index of 165) and KSHV-mediated pathogenic phenotypes including cytokine production, angiogenesis and cell invasion, demonstrating its potential to become an effective drug for treatment of KS. PMID:28380040

Apes Know that Hidden Objects Can Affect the Orientation of Other Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Call, Josep

2007-01-01

Four bonobos, seven gorillas, and six orangutans were presented with two small rectangular boards on a platform. One of the boards had a piece of food under it so that it acquired an inclined orientation whereas the other remained flat on the platform. Subjects preferentially selected the inclined board. In another experiment, subjects were…

Adapted Physical Education Service Approaches and the Effects on the Perceived Efficacy Beliefs of General Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umhoefer, Donna L.; Vargas, Tiffanye M.; Beyer, Robbi

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect the type of APE service approach had on GPE teachers' efficacy when working with students with disabilities. The three approaches of APE service delivery chosen for the study were (a) consultation, (b) itinerant, and (c) collaborative. Results indicate significant differences between levels of…

50 Million Strong for All: Universally Designing CSPAPs to Align with APE Best Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brian, Ali; Grenier, Michelle; Lieberman, Lauren J.; Egan, Cate; Taunton, Sally

2017-01-01

Many children in the United States fail to meet the national recommendations for daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, children with disabilities are more sedentary than their typically developed peers. Comprehensive school physical activity programming (CSPAP) is a whole-of-school approach to provide children with…

Thirty years of great ape gestures.

PubMed

Tomasello, Michael; Call, Josep

2018-02-21

We and our colleagues have been doing studies of great ape gestural communication for more than 30 years. Here we attempt to spell out what we have learned. Some aspects of the process have been reliably established by multiple researchers, for example, its intentional structure and its sensitivity to the attentional state of the recipient. Other aspects are more controversial. We argue here that it is a mistake to assimilate great ape gestures to the species-typical displays of other mammals by claiming that they are fixed action patterns, as there are many differences, including the use of attention-getters. It is also a mistake, we argue, to assimilate great ape gestures to human gestures by claiming that they are used referentially and declaratively in a human-like manner, as apes' "pointing" gesture has many limitations and they do not gesture iconically. Great ape gestures constitute a unique form of primate communication with their own unique qualities.

A new analytical potential energy surface for the singlet state of He{sub 2}H{sup +}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liang Jingjuan; Zhang Qinggang; Yang Chuanlu

2012-03-07

The analytic potential energy surface (APES) for the exchange reaction of HeH{sup +} (X{sup 1}{Sigma}{sup +}) + He at the lowest singlet state 1{sup 1}A{sup /} has been built. The APES is expressed as Aguado-Paniagua function based on the many-body expansion. Using the adaptive non-linear least-squares algorithm, the APES is fitted from 15 682 ab initio energy points calculated with the multireference configuration interaction calculation with a large d-aug-cc-pV5Z basis set. To testify the new APES, we calculate the integral cross sections for He + H{sup +}He (v= 0, 1, 2, j= 0) {yields} HeH{sup +}+ He by means ofmore » quasi-classical trajectory and compare them with the previous result in literature.« less

APE1 promotes antioxidant capacity by regulating Nrf-2 function through a redox-dependent mechanism.

PubMed

Shan, Jin-Lu; He, Hai-Tao; Li, Meng-Xia; Zhu, Jian-Wu; Cheng, Yi; Hu, Nan; Wang, Ge; Wang, Dong; Yang, Xue-Qin; He, Yong; Xiao, Hua-Liang; Tong, Wei-Dong; Yang, Zhen-Zhou

2015-01-01

APE1 is a multifunctional protein that has recently been implicated in protecting cells from oxidative stress. In the current study, we confirmed that APE1׳s effect on cellular antioxidant capacity is related to its redox activity through the use of an APE1 functional mutant, and we investigated the mechanism through which this multifunctional protein affects the function of the transcription factor Nrf-2 in regulating oxidative stress-induced genes. Using a pair of mutants for both the redox activity and the acetylation-regulated activity of APE1, in vitro assays showed that the redox activity of APE1 is crucial for its nuclear association with Nrf-2 and subsequent activation of Nrf-2׳s transcription of several downstream genes during oxidative challenge. Important oxidative stress genes are affected by APE1 redox activity, including Hmox1, Gstm1, and Txnrd1. In addition, utilizing human non-small-cell lung cancer sample tissue as well as a nude mouse xenograft model, we determined that APE1 expression levels are inversely correlated to oxidative stress in vivo. These findings indicated that interference with these crucial functions of APE1 shows promise in preventing resistance to certain radiotherapies and that further research is necessary to understand APE1׳s complex roles in regulating both the basal redox status and the oxidative stress state of the cellular environment. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Great apes distinguish true from false beliefs in an interactive helping task

PubMed Central

Buttelmann, Frances; Carpenter, Malinda; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2017-01-01

Understanding the behavior of others in a wide variety of circumstances requires an understanding of their psychological states. Humans’ nearest primate relatives, the great apes, understand many psychological states of others, for example, perceptions, goals, and desires. However, so far there is little evidence that they possess the key marker of advanced human social cognition: an understanding of false beliefs. Here we demonstrate that in a nonverbal (implicit) false-belief test which is passed by human 1-year-old infants, great apes as a group, including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and orangutans (Pongo abelii), distinguish between true and false beliefs in their helping behavior. Great apes thus may possess at least some basic understanding that an agent’s actions are based on her beliefs about reality. Hence, such understanding might not be the exclusive province of the human species. PMID:28379987

Great apes distinguish true from false beliefs in an interactive helping task.

PubMed

Buttelmann, David; Buttelmann, Frances; Carpenter, Malinda; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2017-01-01

Understanding the behavior of others in a wide variety of circumstances requires an understanding of their psychological states. Humans' nearest primate relatives, the great apes, understand many psychological states of others, for example, perceptions, goals, and desires. However, so far there is little evidence that they possess the key marker of advanced human social cognition: an understanding of false beliefs. Here we demonstrate that in a nonverbal (implicit) false-belief test which is passed by human 1-year-old infants, great apes as a group, including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and orangutans (Pongo abelii), distinguish between true and false beliefs in their helping behavior. Great apes thus may possess at least some basic understanding that an agent's actions are based on her beliefs about reality. Hence, such understanding might not be the exclusive province of the human species.

A New Approach for Monitoring Ebolavirus in Wild Great Apes

PubMed Central

Cameron, Kenneth N.; Ondzie, Alain U.; Joly, Damien; Bermejo, Magdalena; Rouquet, Pierre; Fabozzi, Giulia; Bailey, Michael; Shen, Zhimin; Keele, Brandon F.; Hahn, Beatrice; Karesh, William B.; Sullivan, Nancy J.

2014-01-01

Background Central Africa is a “hotspot” for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of global and local importance, and a current outbreak of ebolavirus is affecting multiple countries simultaneously. Ebolavirus is suspected to have caused recent declines in resident great apes. While ebolavirus vaccines have been proposed as an intervention to protect apes, their effectiveness would be improved if we could diagnostically confirm Ebola virus disease (EVD) as the cause of die-offs, establish ebolavirus geographical distribution, identify immunologically naïve populations, and determine whether apes survive virus exposure. Methodology/Principal findings Here we report the first successful noninvasive detection of antibodies against Ebola virus (EBOV) from wild ape feces. Using this method, we have been able to identify gorillas with antibodies to EBOV with an overall prevalence rate reaching 10% on average, demonstrating that EBOV exposure or infection is not uniformly lethal in this species. Furthermore, evidence of antibodies was identified in gorillas thought previously to be unexposed to EBOV (protected from exposure by rivers as topological barriers of transmission). Conclusions/Significance Our new approach will contribute to a strategy to protect apes from future EBOV infections by early detection of increased incidence of exposure, by identifying immunologically naïve at-risk populations as potential targets for vaccination, and by providing a means to track vaccine efficacy if such intervention is deemed appropriate. Finally, since human EVD is linked to contact with infected wildlife carcasses, efforts aimed at identifying great ape outbreaks could have a profound impact on public health in local communities, where EBOV causes case-fatality rates of up to 88%. PMID:25232832

A new approach for monitoring ebolavirus in wild great apes.

PubMed

Reed, Patricia E; Mulangu, Sabue; Cameron, Kenneth N; Ondzie, Alain U; Joly, Damien; Bermejo, Magdalena; Rouquet, Pierre; Fabozzi, Giulia; Bailey, Michael; Shen, Zhimin; Keele, Brandon F; Hahn, Beatrice; Karesh, William B; Sullivan, Nancy J

2014-09-01

Central Africa is a "hotspot" for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of global and local importance, and a current outbreak of ebolavirus is affecting multiple countries simultaneously. Ebolavirus is suspected to have caused recent declines in resident great apes. While ebolavirus vaccines have been proposed as an intervention to protect apes, their effectiveness would be improved if we could diagnostically confirm Ebola virus disease (EVD) as the cause of die-offs, establish ebolavirus geographical distribution, identify immunologically naïve populations, and determine whether apes survive virus exposure. Here we report the first successful noninvasive detection of antibodies against Ebola virus (EBOV) from wild ape feces. Using this method, we have been able to identify gorillas with antibodies to EBOV with an overall prevalence rate reaching 10% on average, demonstrating that EBOV exposure or infection is not uniformly lethal in this species. Furthermore, evidence of antibodies was identified in gorillas thought previously to be unexposed to EBOV (protected from exposure by rivers as topological barriers of transmission). Our new approach will contribute to a strategy to protect apes from future EBOV infections by early detection of increased incidence of exposure, by identifying immunologically naïve at-risk populations as potential targets for vaccination, and by providing a means to track vaccine efficacy if such intervention is deemed appropriate. Finally, since human EVD is linked to contact with infected wildlife carcasses, efforts aimed at identifying great ape outbreaks could have a profound impact on public health in local communities, where EBOV causes case-fatality rates of up to 88%.

A test of the submentalizing hypothesis: Apes' performance in a false belief task inanimate control

PubMed Central

Hirata, Satoshi; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Much debate concerns whether any nonhuman animals share with humans the ability to infer others' mental states, such as desires and beliefs. In a recent eye-tracking false-belief task, we showed that great apes correctly anticipated that a human actor would search for a goal object where he had last seen it, even though the apes themselves knew that it was no longer there. In response, Heyes proposed that apes' looking behavior was guided not by social cognitive mechanisms but rather domain-general cueing effects, and suggested the use of inanimate controls to test this alternative submentalizing hypothesis. In the present study, we implemented the suggested inanimate control of our previous false-belief task. Apes attended well to key events but showed markedly fewer anticipatory looks and no significant tendency to look to the correct location. We thus found no evidence that submentalizing was responsible for apes' anticipatory looks in our false-belief task. PMID:28919941

A test of the submentalizing hypothesis: Apes' performance in a false belief task inanimate control.

PubMed

Krupenye, Christopher; Kano, Fumihiro; Hirata, Satoshi; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2017-01-01

Much debate concerns whether any nonhuman animals share with humans the ability to infer others' mental states, such as desires and beliefs. In a recent eye-tracking false-belief task, we showed that great apes correctly anticipated that a human actor would search for a goal object where he had last seen it, even though the apes themselves knew that it was no longer there. In response, Heyes proposed that apes' looking behavior was guided not by social cognitive mechanisms but rather domain-general cueing effects, and suggested the use of inanimate controls to test this alternative submentalizing hypothesis. In the present study, we implemented the suggested inanimate control of our previous false-belief task. Apes attended well to key events but showed markedly fewer anticipatory looks and no significant tendency to look to the correct location. We thus found no evidence that submentalizing was responsible for apes' anticipatory looks in our false-belief task.

Experimental study on evaluation and optimization of tilt angle of parallel-plate electrodes using electrocoagulation device for oily water demulsification.

PubMed

Liu, Yang; Jiang, Wen-Ming; Yang, Jie; Li, Yu-Xing; Chen, Ming-Can; Li, Jian-Na

2017-08-01

Tilt angle of parallel-plate electrodes (APE) is very important as it improves the economy of diffusion controlled Electrocoagulation (EC) processes. This study aimed to evaluate and optimize APE of a self-made EC device including integrally rotary electrodes, at a fixed current density of 120 Am -2 . The APEs investigated in this study were selected at 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, and a special value (α (d) ) which was defined as a special orientation of electrode when the upper end of anode and the lower end of cathode is in a line vertical to the bottom of reactor. Experiments were conducted to determine the optimum APE for demulsification process using four evaluation indexes, as: oil removal efficiency in the center between electrodes; energy consumption and Al consumption, and besides, a novel universal evaluation index named as evenness index of oil removal efficiency employed to fully reflect distribution characteristics of demulsification efficiency. At a given plate spacing of 4 cm, the optimal APE was found to be α (d) because of its potential of enhancing the mass transfer process within whole EC reactor without addition, external mechanical stirring energy, and finally the four evaluation indexed are 97.07%, 0.11 g Al g -1 oil, 2.99 kwhkg -1 oil, 99.97% and 99.97%, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multicentre propensity score-matched analysis of conventional versus extended abdominoperineal excision for low rectal cancer.

PubMed

Ortiz, H; Ciga, M A; Armendariz, P; Kreisler, E; Codina-Cazador, A; Gomez-Barbadillo, J; Garcia-Granero, E; Roig, J V; Biondo, S

2014-06-01

Abdominal perineal excision (APE) was originally described with levator ani removal for rectal cancer. An even wider, more aggressive extralevator resection for APE has been proposed. Although some surgeons are performing a very wide 'extralevator APE (ELAPE)', there are few data to recommend it routinely. This multicentre study aimed to compare outcomes of APE and ELAPE. A multicentre propensity case-matched analysis comparing two surgical approaches (APE and ELAPE) was performed. All patients who underwent abdominoperineal resection of a rectal tumour were considered for the analysis. Tumour height was defined by magnetic resonance imaging measurement and patients with stage II-III tumours had neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. Involvement of the circumferential resection margin (CRM) and intraoperative tumour perforation were the main outcome measures. A logistic regression model was used to study the relationship between the surgical approaches and outcomes. From January 2008 to March 2013 a total of 1909 consecutive patients underwent APE or ELAPE, of whom 914 matched patients (457 in each group) formed the cohort for analysis. Intraoperative tumour perforation occurred in 7.9 and 7.7 per cent of patients during APE and ELAPE respectively (P = 0.902), and there was CRM involvement in 13.1 and 13.6 per cent (P = 0.846). There were no differences between APE and ELAPE in terms of postoperative complication rates (52.3 versus 48.1 per cent; P = 0.209), need for reoperation (7.7 versus 7.0 per cent; P = 0.703), perineal wound problems (26.0 versus 21.9 per cent; P = 0.141), mortality rate (2.0 versus 2.0 per cent; P = 1.000) and local recurrence rate at 2 years (2.7 versus 5.6 per cent; P = 0.664). ELAPE does not improve rates of CRM involvement, intraoperative tumour perforation, local recurrence or mortality. © 2014 BJS Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Annurca peel extract: from the chemical composition, through the functional activity, to the formulation and characterisation of a topical oil-in-water emulsion.

PubMed

Sansone, Francesca; Esposito, Tiziana; Mencherini, Teresa; Piccinelli, Anna Lisa; Gazzerro, Patrizia; Picerno, Patrizia; Russo, Paola; Del Gaudio, Pasquale; Essolito, Massimilano; Campiglia, Pietro; Aquino, Rita P

2016-06-01

The aim of this study was to produce a hydro-alcoholic safe antioxidant Malus pumila Miller cv Annurca peel extract (APE) useful as functional ingredient in an oil-in-water emulsion. Results showed that APE contains a hydroxycinnamic acid (chlorogenic acid), flavonol glycosides (quercetin derivatives) and a dihydrochalcone, phloridzin (phloretin-2-O-glucoside). The isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-glucoside) content was quantified in 0.3% w/w of extract. APE showed a significant and concentration-dependent free-radical scavenging activity correlated to its polyphenols content. No cytotoxic effect was observed in primary human epidermal keratinocyte adults and dermal fibroblast cell lines. The formulative approach led to produce a stable emulsion able to load a high amount of APE, up to 6.0% w/w. The homogenous distribution of APE in the emulsion was clearly demonstrated by fluorescence microscopy analysis. The emulsion resulted able to enhance the in vitro release rate of APE through synthetic membranes with respect to the raw material.

Apes, Wolves, Birds, and Humans: Toward a Comparative Foundation for a Functional Theory of Language Evolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Jane H.

1977-01-01

This article reviews the possibilities that a comparative, functionally oriented view of communication evolution offers to a linguist interested in the evolution of human languages and suggests a wide variety of areas which might be further investigated with profit. (CFM)

Development and evaluation of human AP endonuclease inhibitors in melanoma and glioma cell lines.

PubMed

Mohammed, M Z; Vyjayanti, V N; Laughton, C A; Dekker, L V; Fischer, P M; Wilson, D M; Abbotts, R; Shah, S; Patel, P M; Hickson, I D; Madhusudan, S

2011-02-15

Modulation of DNA base excision repair (BER) has the potential to enhance response to chemotherapy and improve outcomes in tumours such as melanoma and glioma. APE1, a critical protein in BER that processes potentially cytotoxic abasic sites (AP sites), is a promising new target in cancer. In the current study, we aimed to develop small molecule inhibitors of APE1 for cancer therapy. An industry-standard high throughput virtual screening strategy was adopted. The Sybyl8.0 (Tripos, St Louis, MO, USA) molecular modelling software suite was used to build inhibitor templates. Similarity searching strategies were then applied using ROCS 2.3 (Open Eye Scientific, Santa Fe, NM, USA) to extract pharmacophorically related subsets of compounds from a chemically diverse database of 2.6 million compounds. The compounds in these subsets were subjected to docking against the active site of the APE1 model, using the genetic algorithm-based programme GOLD2.7 (CCDC, Cambridge, UK). Predicted ligand poses were ranked on the basis of several scoring functions. The top virtual hits with promising pharmaceutical properties underwent detailed in vitro analyses using fluorescence-based APE1 cleavage assays and counter screened using endonuclease IV cleavage assays, fluorescence quenching assays and radiolabelled oligonucleotide assays. Biochemical APE1 inhibitors were then subjected to detailed cytotoxicity analyses. Several specific APE1 inhibitors were isolated by this approach. The IC(50) for APE1 inhibition ranged between 30 nM and 50 μM. We demonstrated that APE1 inhibitors lead to accumulation of AP sites in genomic DNA and potentiated the cytotoxicity of alkylating agents in melanoma and glioma cell lines. Our study provides evidence that APE1 is an emerging drug target and could have therapeutic application in patients with melanoma and glioma.

Cortical Structure of Hallucal Metatarsals and Locomotor Adaptations in Hominoids

PubMed Central

Jashashvili, Tea; Dowdeswell, Mark R.; Lebrun, Renaud; Carlson, Kristian J.

2015-01-01

Diaphyseal morphology of long bones, in part, reflects in vivo loads experienced during the lifetime of an individual. The first metatarsal, as a cornerstone structure of the foot, presumably expresses diaphyseal morphology that reflects loading history of the foot during stance phase of gait. Human feet differ substantially from those of other apes in terms of loading histories when comparing the path of the center of pressure during stance phase, which reflects different weight transfer mechanisms. Here we use a novel approach for quantifying continuous thickness and cross-sectional geometric properties of long bones in order to test explicit hypotheses about loading histories and diaphyseal structure of adult chimpanzee, gorilla, and human first metatarsals. For each hallucal metatarsal, 17 cross sections were extracted at regularly-spaced intervals (2.5% length) between 25% and 65% length. Cortical thickness in cross sections was measured in one degree radially-arranged increments, while second moments of area were measured about neutral axes also in one degree radially-arranged increments. Standardized thicknesses and second moments of area were visualized using false color maps, while penalized discriminant analyses were used to evaluate quantitative species differences. Humans systematically exhibit the thinnest diaphyseal cortices, yet the greatest diaphyseal rigidities, particularly in dorsoplantar regions. Shifts in orientation of maximum second moments of area along the diaphysis also distinguish human hallucal metatarsals from those of chimpanzees and gorillas. Diaphyseal structure reflects different loading regimes, often in predictable ways, with human versus non-human differences probably resulting both from the use of arboreal substrates by non-human apes and by differing spatial relationships between hallux position and orientation of the substrate reaction resultant during stance. The novel morphological approach employed in this study offers the potential for transformative insights into form-function relationships in additional long bones, including those of extinct organisms (e.g., fossils). PMID:25635768

Small-molecule inhibitors of APE1 DNA repair function: an overview.

PubMed

Al-Safi, Rasha I; Odde, Srinivas; Shabaik, Yumna; Neamati, Nouri

2012-01-01

APE1 is a multifaceted protein that orchestrates multiple activities in the cell, one of which is the preservation of genomic integrity; a vital process that takes place in the context of the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Studies have implicated APE1 in rendering cancerous cells less vulnerable to the effects of DNA-damaging agents that are commonly used for the treatment of cancer. Furthermore, suppression of APE1 expression in cancer cell lines is accompanied by the potentiation of the activity of cytotoxic agents. As a result, major efforts have been directed towards the identification of small-molecule inhibitors of this DNA-repair enzyme. Herein, we review all patented small-molecule APE1 inhibitors reported prior to 2011. Unfortunately, the potency and selectivity of many of the reported inhibitors were not disclosed by the original authors, and at present it is unclear if APE1 is a bona fide target for many of the purported inhibitors. Moreover, cellular activity and toxicity of many inhibitors remain to be established. Since this is the first comprehensive review of small molecule APE1 inhibitors, we present all compounds reported to inhibit APE1 activity with an IC50 value ≤ 25 μM. Efforts towards a careful validation and optimization of these compounds are warranted. Furthermore, we explore potential allosteric drug-binding sites on the protein as an alternative approach for modulating the activity of this multifunctional protein. In addition, we give an overview of APE2, as well as other APE1 homologues in some disease-causing pathogens. Finally, given the universal importance of DNA repair, as well as the considerable conservation of repair proteins across all living organisms, we propose targeting the AP endonuclease activity of pathogens by the compounds discussed in this review, thereby expanding their therapeutic potential and application.

Physical Educators' Engagement in Online Adapted Physical Education Graduate Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Takahiro; Haegele, Justin A.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service physical education teachers' engagement during online adapted physical education (APE) graduate professional development. This study was based on andragogy theory. All participants were in-service physical education teachers enrolled in a state-approved online APE endorsement program at a…

Dyadic brain modelling, mirror systems and the ontogenetic ritualization of ape gesture

PubMed Central

Arbib, Michael; Ganesh, Varsha; Gasser, Brad

2014-01-01

The paper introduces dyadic brain modelling, offering both a framework for modelling the brains of interacting agents and a general framework for simulating and visualizing the interactions generated when the brains (and the two bodies) are each coded up in computational detail. It models selected neural mechanisms in ape brains supportive of social interactions, including putative mirror neuron systems inspired by macaque neurophysiology but augmented by increased access to proprioceptive state. Simulation results for a reduced version of the model show ritualized gesture emerging from interactions between a simulated child and mother ape. PMID:24778382

Dyadic brain modelling, mirror systems and the ontogenetic ritualization of ape gesture.

PubMed

Arbib, Michael; Ganesh, Varsha; Gasser, Brad

2014-01-01

The paper introduces dyadic brain modelling, offering both a framework for modelling the brains of interacting agents and a general framework for simulating and visualizing the interactions generated when the brains (and the two bodies) are each coded up in computational detail. It models selected neural mechanisms in ape brains supportive of social interactions, including putative mirror neuron systems inspired by macaque neurophysiology but augmented by increased access to proprioceptive state. Simulation results for a reduced version of the model show ritualized gesture emerging from interactions between a simulated child and mother ape.

Surgery and Medicine Residents' Perspectives of Morbidity and Mortality Conference: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improve ACGME Core Competency Compliance.

PubMed

Flynn-O'Brien, Katherine T; Mandell, Samuel P; Eaton, Erik Van; Schleyer, Anneliese M; McIntyre, Lisa K

2015-01-01

Morbidity and mortality conferences (MMCs) are often used to fulfill the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) competency, but there is variation among institutions and disciplines in their approach to MMCs. The objective of this study is to examine the trainees' perspective and experience with MMCs and adverse patient event (APE) reporting across disciplines to help guide the future implementation of an institution-wide, workflow-embedded, quality improvement (QI) program for PBLI. Between April 1, 2013, and May 8, 2013, surgical and medical residents were given a confidential survey about APE reporting practices and experience with and attitudes toward MMCs and other QI/patient safety initiatives. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses using the chi-square test for independence were calculated for all variables. Logistic regression and ordered logistic regression were used for nominal and ordinal categorical dependent variables, respectively, to calculate odds of reporting APEs. Qualitative content analysis was used to code free-text responses. A large, multihospital, tertiary academic training program in the Pacific Northwest. Residents in all years of training from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited programs in surgery and internal medicine. Survey response rate was 46.2% (126/273). Although most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that knowledge of and involvement in QI/patient safety activities was important to their training (88.1%) and future career (91.3%), only 10.3% regularly or frequently reported APEs to the institution's established electronic incident reporting system. Senior-level residents in both surgery and medicine were more likely to report APEs than more junior-level residents were (odds ratio = 4.8, 95% CI: 3.1-7.5). Surgery residents had a 4.9 (95% CI: 2.3-10.5) times higher odds than medicine residents had to have reported an APE to their MMC or service, and a 2.5 (95% CI: 1.0-6.2) times higher odds to have ever reported an APE through any mechanism. The most commonly cited reason for not reporting APEs was "finding the reporting process cumbersome." Overall, 87% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that MMCs were valuable, educational, and contributed to improving patient outcomes, but many cited opportunities for improvement. Although the perceived value of MMCs is high among both surgical and medicine trainees, there is significant variability across disciplines and level of training in APE reporting and experience with MMCs. This study presents a multidisciplinary resident perspective on optimizing APE reporting, MMCs, and PBLI compliance. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring competing experiences and expectations of the revitalized community health worker programme in Mozambique: an equity analysis.

PubMed

Give, Celso Soares; Sidat, Mohsin; Ormel, Hermen; Ndima, Sozinho; McCollum, Rosalind; Taegtmeyer, Miriam

2015-09-01

Mozambique launched its revitalized community health programme in 2010 in response to inequitable coverage and quality of health services. The programme is focused on health promotion and disease prevention, with 20 % of community health workers' (known in Mozambique as Agentes Polivalentes Elementares (APEs)) time spent on curative services and 80 % on activities promoting health and preventing illness. We set out to conduct a health system and equity analysis, exploring experiences and expectations of APEs, community members and healthcare workers supervising APEs. This exploratory qualitative study captured the perspectives of a range of participants including women caring for children under 5 years (service clients), community leaders, service providers (APEs) and their supervisors. Participants in the Moamba and Manhiça districts, located in Maputo Province (Mozambique), were selected purposively. In total, 29 in-depth interviews and 9 focus group discussions were conducted in the local language and/or Portuguese. A framework approach was used for analysis, assisted by NVivo10 software. Our analysis revealed that health equity is viewed as linked to the quality and coverage of the APE programme. Demand and supply factors interplay to shape health equity. The availability of responsive and appropriate services led to tensions between community expectations for curative services (and APEs' willingness to perform them) and official policy focusing APE efforts mainly on preventive services and health promotion. The demand for more curative services by community members is a result of having limited access to healthcare services other than those offered by APEs. This study highlights the need to pay attention to the determinants of demand and supply of community interventions in health, to understand the opportunities and challenges of the difficult interface role played by APEs and to create communication among stakeholders in order to build a stronger, more effective and equitable community programme.

Mesoscale Convective Vortices in Multiscale, Idealized Simulations: Dependence on Background State, Interdependency with Moist Baroclinic Cyclones, and Comparison with BAMEX Observations

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

to be 700 km. The scale of devel- opment is therefore within the fast -growing, smaller wavenumber portion of the large cyclone growth regime...the baroclinic conversion term CA increases about half as fast as it does in the corresponding moist experiment. In the moist case, CA reaches its...conversion of mean-state APE to eddy APE is slower, so the occlusion process is delayed and the system con- tinues deepening, although not as fast as in the

A comprehensive molecular cytogenetic analysis of chromosome rearrangements in gibbons

PubMed Central

Capozzi, Oronzo; Carbone, Lucia; Stanyon, Roscoe R.; Marra, Annamaria; Yang, Fengtang; Whelan, Christopher W.; de Jong, Pieter J.; Rocchi, Mariano; Archidiacono, Nicoletta

2012-01-01

Chromosome rearrangements in small apes are up to 20 times more frequent than in most mammals. Because of their complexity, the full extent of chromosome evolution in these hominoids is not yet fully documented. However, previous work with array painting, BAC-FISH, and selective sequencing in two of the four karyomorphs has shown that high-resolution methods can precisely define chromosome breakpoints and map the complex flow of evolutionary chromosome rearrangements. Here we use these tools to precisely define the rearrangements that have occurred in the remaining two karyomorphs, genera Symphalangus (2n = 50) and Hoolock (2n = 38). This research provides the most comprehensive insight into the evolutionary origins of chromosome rearrangements involved in transforming small apes genome. Bioinformatics analyses of the human–gibbon synteny breakpoints revealed association with transposable elements and segmental duplications, providing some insight into the mechanisms that might have promoted rearrangements in small apes. In the near future, the comparison of gibbon genome sequences will provide novel insights to test hypotheses concerning the mechanisms of chromosome evolution. The precise definition of synteny block boundaries and orientation, chromosomal fusions, and centromere repositioning events presented here will facilitate genome sequence assembly for these close relatives of humans. PMID:22892276

Apes perform like infants in false-belief tasks.

PubMed

Bugnyar, Thomas

2017-12-01

Although the extent to which some nonhuman animals understand mental states is currently under debate, attributing false beliefs has been considered to be beyond their limits. A recent study by Krupenye, Kano, Hirata, Call, and Tomasello (Science, 354, 110-114, 2016) shows that great apes pass a false-belief task when they are tested with an anticipatory-looking paradigm developed for nonverbal human infants.

Cognitive ornithology: the evolution of avian intelligence

PubMed Central

Emery, Nathan J

2005-01-01

Comparative psychologists interested in the evolution of intelligence have focused their attention on social primates, whereas birds tend to be used as models of associative learning. However, corvids and parrots, which have forebrains relatively the same size as apes, live in complex social groups and have a long developmental period before becoming independent, have demonstrated ape-like intelligence. Although, ornithologists have documented thousands of hours observing birds in their natural habitat, they have focused their attention on avian behaviour and ecology, rather than intelligence. This review discusses recent studies of avian cognition contrasting two different approaches; the anthropocentric approach and the adaptive specialization approach. It is argued that the most productive method is to combine the two approaches. This is discussed with respects to recent investigations of two supposedly unique aspects of human cognition; episodic memory and theory of mind. In reviewing the evidence for avian intelligence, corvids and parrots appear to be cognitively superior to other birds and in many cases even apes. This suggests that complex cognition has evolved in species with very different brains through a process of convergent evolution rather than shared ancestry, although the notion that birds and mammals may share common neural connectivity patterns is discussed. PMID:16553307

Genetic Differences Between Great Apes and Humans: Implications for Human Evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Varki, Ajit

2004-03-17

When considering protein sequences, humans are 99-100% identical to chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest evolutionary relatives. The evolution of humans (and the unique features of our species) from a common ancestor with these great apes involved many steps, influenced by interactions amongst factors of genetic, developmental, ecological, microbial, climatic, behavioral, cultural and social origin. The genetic factors can be approached by direct comparisons of human and great ape genomes, genes and gene products, and by elucidating biochemical and biological consequences of the differences. We have discovered multiple genetic and biochemical differences between humans and great apes, particularly in relationship tomore » a family of cell surface molecules called sialic acids. These differences have implications for the human condition, ranging from susceptibility or resistance to microbial pathogens; effects on endogenous receptors in the immune system; potential effects on placental signaling; the expression of oncofetal antigens in cancers; consequences of dietary intake of animal foods; and the development of the mammalian brain. This talk will provide an overview of these and other genetic differences between humans and great apes, with attention to differences potentially relevant to the evolution of humans.« less

The mismeasure of ape social cognition.

PubMed

Leavens, David A; Bard, Kim A; Hopkins, William D

2017-08-04

In his classic analysis, Gould (The mismeasure of man, WW Norton, New York, 1981) demolished the idea that intelligence was an inherent, genetic trait of different human groups by emphasizing, among other things, (a) its sensitivity to environmental input, (b) the incommensurate pre-test preparation of different human groups, and (c) the inadequacy of the testing contexts, in many cases. According to Gould, the root cause of these oversights was confirmation bias by psychometricians, an unwarranted commitment to the idea that intelligence was a fixed, immutable quality of people. By virtue of a similar, systemic interpretive bias, in the last two decades, numerous contemporary researchers in comparative psychology have claimed human superiority over apes in social intelligence, based on two-group comparisons between postindustrial, Western Europeans and captive apes, where the apes have been isolated from European styles of social interaction, and tested with radically different procedures. Moreover, direct comparisons of humans with apes suffer from pervasive lapses in argumentation: Research designs in wide contemporary use are inherently mute about the underlying psychological causes of overt behavior. Here we analyze these problems and offer a more fruitful approach to the comparative study of social intelligence, which focuses on specific individual learning histories in specific ecological circumstances.

MO-G-201-01: A Multi-Institutional Study Investigating the Performance of a Knowledge-Based Planning System Against Pinnacle Auto-Planning Engine in SIB-IMRT for the Head-And-Neck Cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, B; Pang, D; Kusters, M

Purpose: Knowledge-based Planning (KBP) founded on prior planning experience and Auto-Planning Engine (APE; commercialized in Pinnacle v9.10 TPS) based on progressive optimization algorithm both aim to eliminate the trial-and-error process in radiotherapy inverse planning. This study investigates the performance of the approaches in a multi-institutional setting to evaluate their functionalities in oropharyngeal cancer and offers suggestions how they can be implemented in the clinic. Methods: Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC) provided 35 oropharyngeal cancer patients (SIB-IMRT with two-dose-level prescription: 68 Gy to PTV68 and 50.3 Gy to PTV50.3) with corresponding comparative APE plans. Johns Hopkins University (JHU) contributed to amore » three-dose-level (70 Gy 63 Gy and 58.1 Gy) plan library for RUMC’s patient KBP generation. MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH) contributed to a KBP approach employing overlap-volume histogram (OVH-KBP) for generating RUMC’s patient KBP plans using JHU’s plan library. Since both approaches need their own user-defined parameters as initial inputs the first 10 patients were set aside as training set to finalize them. Meanwhile cross-institutional comparisons and adjustments were implemented for investigating institutions’ protocol discrepancies and the approaches’ user-defined parameters were updated accordingly. The finalized parameters were then applied to the remaining 25 patients for OVH-KBP and APE generation. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for statistical comparison with significance level of p<0.05. Results: On average PTV68’s V95 was 96.5% in APE plans vs. 97% in OVH-KBP plans (p=0.36); PTV50.3’s V95 in APE plans was 97.8% vs.97.6% in OVH-KBP plans (p=0.6); cord’s D0.1 cc was 38.6 Gy in OVH-KBP plans vs. 43.7 Gy in APE plans (p=0.0001); mean doses to larynxes oral cavities parotids and submandibular glands were similar with p>0.2. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that KBP and APE can generate plans of comparable quality in a multi-institutional setting. Variations in clinical protocols can be effectively addressed for cross-institutional adaptations. Binbin Wu and Todd McNutt are the co-inventors of a patent associated with the proposed knowledge-based planning system which was licensed to Varian Medical Systems in 2015; This research was in part supported by Philips Radiation Oncology Systems.« less

High energy conformers of M(+)(APE)(H2O)(0-1)Ar(0-1) clusters revealed by combined IR-PD and DFT-MD anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy.

PubMed

Brites, V; Nicely, A L; Sieffert, N; Gaigeot, M-P; Lisy, J M

2014-07-14

IR-PD vibrational spectroscopy and DFT-based molecular dynamics simulations are combined in order to unravel the structures of M(+)(APE)(H2O)0-1 ionic clusters (M = Na, K), where APE (2-amino-1-phenyl ethanol) is commonly used as an analogue for the noradrenaline neurotransmitter. The strength of the synergy between experiments and simulations presented here is that DFT-MD provides anharmonic vibrational spectra that unambiguously help assign the ionic clusters structures. Depending on the interacting cation, we have found that the lowest energy conformers of K(+)(APE)(H2O)0-1 clusters are formed, while the lowest energy conformers of Na(+)(APE)(H2O)0-1 clusters can only be observed through water loss channel (i.e. without argon tagged to the clusters). Trapping of higher energy conformers is observed when the argon loss channel is recorded in the experiment. This has been rationalized by transition state energies. The dynamical anharmonic vibrational spectra unambiguously provide the prominent OH stretch due to the OH···NH2 H-bond, within 10 cm(-1) of the experiment, hence reproducing the 240-300 cm(-1) red-shift (depending on the interacting cation) from bare neutral APE. When this H-bond is not present, the dynamical anharmonic spectra provide the water O-H stretches as well as the rotational motion of the water molecule at finite temperature, as observed in the experiment.

The goal of ape pointing.

PubMed

Halina, Marta; Liebal, Katja; Tomasello, Michael

2018-01-01

Captive great apes regularly use pointing gestures in their interactions with humans. However, the precise function of this gesture is unknown. One possibility is that apes use pointing primarily to direct attention (as in "please look at that"); another is that they point mainly as an action request (such as "can you give that to me?"). We investigated these two possibilities here by examining how the looking behavior of recipients affects pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Upon pointing to food, subjects were faced with a recipient who either looked at the indicated object (successful-look) or failed to look at the indicated object (failed-look). We predicted that, if apes point primarily to direct attention, subjects would spend more time pointing in the failed-look condition because the goal of their gesture had not been met. Alternatively, we expected that, if apes point primarily to request an object, subjects would not differ in their pointing behavior between the successful-look and failed-look conditions because these conditions differed only in the looking behavior of the recipient. We found that subjects did differ in their pointing behavior across the successful-look and failed-look conditions, but contrary to our prediction subjects spent more time pointing in the successful-look condition. These results suggest that apes are sensitive to the attentional states of gestural recipients, but their adjustments are aimed at multiple goals. We also found a greater number of individuals with a strong right-hand than left-hand preference for pointing.

Distal Communication by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for Common Ground?

PubMed Central

Leavens, David A.; Reamer, Lisa A.; Mareno, Mary Catherine; Russell, Jamie L.; Wilson, Daniel; Schapiro, Steven J.; Hopkins, William D.

2015-01-01

van der Goot et al. (2014) proposed that distal, deictic communication indexed the appreciation of the psychological state of a common ground between a signaler and a receiver. In their study, great apes did not signal distally, which they construed as evidence for the human uniqueness of a sense of common ground. This study exposed 166 chimpanzees to food and an experimenter, at an angular displacement, to ask, “Do chimpanzees display distal communication?” Apes were categorized as (a) proximal or (b) distal signalers on each of four trials. The number of chimpanzees who communicated proximally did not statistically differ from the number who signaled distally. Therefore, contrary to the claim by van der Goot et al., apes do communicate distally. PMID:26292996

Final Environmental Assessment: Demolition of Walson Hospital Complex at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

westerly winds from the Ohio River Valley and nighttime reservoirs of pollutants from southern States along the Appalachian Mountain Range have...Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst June 2012 iii List of Acronyms AFI Air Force Instruction APE Area of Potential Effect BMPs Best...Effect The Area of Potential Effect ( APE ) for architectural history and archaeology includes the area bounded by New Jersey Avenue, North Scott

Comparative Pathology of Aging Great Apes: Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans.

PubMed

Lowenstine, L J; McManamon, R; Terio, K A

2016-03-01

The great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) are our closest relatives. Despite the many similarities, there are significant differences in aging among apes, including the human ape. Common to all are dental attrition, periodontitis, tooth loss, osteopenia, and arthritis, although gout is uniquely human and spondyloarthropathy is more prevalent in apes than humans. Humans are more prone to frailty, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, longevity past reproductive senescence, loss of brain volume, and Alzheimer dementia. Cerebral vascular disease occurs in both humans and apes. Cardiovascular disease mortality increases in aging humans and apes, but coronary atherosclerosis is the most significant type in humans. In captive apes, idiopathic myocardial fibrosis and cardiomyopathy predominate, with arteriosclerosis of intramural coronary arteries. Similar cardiac lesions are occasionally seen in wild apes. Vascular changes in heart and kidneys and aortic dissections in gorillas and bonobos suggest that hypertension may be involved in pathogenesis. Chronic kidney disease is common in elderly humans and some aging apes and is linked with cardiovascular disease in orangutans. Neoplasms common to aging humans and apes include uterine leiomyomas in chimpanzees, but other tumors of elderly humans, such as breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers, are uncommon in apes. Among the apes, chimpanzees have been best studied in laboratory settings, and more comparative research is needed into the pathology of geriatric zoo-housed and wild apes. Increasing longevity of humans and apes makes understanding aging processes and diseases imperative for optimizing quality of life in all the ape species. © The Author(s) 2015.

Welfare of apes in captive environments: comments on, and by, a specific group of apes.

PubMed

Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue; Wamba, Kanzi; Wamba, Panbanisha; Wamba, Nyota

2007-01-01

Accurately determining the proper captive environment for apes requires adequately assessing the psychological similarities between apes and humans. Scientists currently believe apes lack mental complexity (Millikan, 2006), raising questions concerning the evolution of human culture from ape-like societies (Tomasello, 1999). A long-term cultural study with bonobos suggests less intellectual divergence from humans than currently postulated (Savage-Rumbaugh, 2005). Because humans view apes as mentally limited, some current captive environments may appear idyllic while offering only an illusion of appropriate care, derived from a simplistic view of what apes are, rather than what they might be. This perception of apes determines their handling, which determines their mental development, which perpetuates the prevailing perception. Only breaking this cycle will allow the current perception of apes to change. Their usual captive environment limits any demonstration of culture. However, the bonobo study reveals what ape culture can become, which should affect future welfare considerations for at least those species genetically close to humans (bonobos and chimpanzees). Development of a languaged bonobo culture allows these nonhuman animals to provide their own responses regarding adequate ape welfare.

Genetic Differences Between Humans and Great Apes -- Implications for the Evolution of Humans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varki, Ajit

2004-06-01

At the level of individual protein sequences, humans are 97-100% identical to the great apes, our closest evolutionary relatives. The evolution of humans (and of human intelligence) from a common ancestor with the chimpanzee and bonobo involved many steps, influenced by interactions amongst factors of genetic, developmental, ecological, microbial, climatic, behavioral, cultural and social origin. The genetic factors can be approached by direct comparisons of human and great ape genomes, genes and gene products, and by elucidating biochemical and biological consequences of any differences found. We have discovered multiple genetic and biochemical differences between humans and great apes, particularly with respect to a family of cell surface molecules called sialic acids, as well as in the metabolism of thyroid hormones. The hormone differences have potential consequences for human brain development. The differences in sialic acid biology have multiple implications for the human condition, ranging from susceptibility or resistance to microbial pathogens, effects on endogenous receptors in the immune system, and potential effects on placental signaling, expression of oncofetal antigens in cancers, consequences of dietary intake of animal foods, and development of the mammalian brain.

Spatial cognition in apes and humans.

PubMed

Gentner, Dedre

2007-05-01

The debate on whether language influences cognition is sometimes seen as a simple dichotomy: cognitive development is governed either by innate predispositions or by influences of language and culture. In two recent papers on spatial cognition, Haun and colleagues break new ground in bringing together a comparative cognition approach with a cross-linguistic framework to arrive at a third position: that humans begin with the same spatial reference frames as our near relatives, the great apes, and diverge later owing to the influence of language and culture.

The goal of ape pointing

PubMed Central

Liebal, Katja; Tomasello, Michael

2018-01-01

Captive great apes regularly use pointing gestures in their interactions with humans. However, the precise function of this gesture is unknown. One possibility is that apes use pointing primarily to direct attention (as in “please look at that”); another is that they point mainly as an action request (such as “can you give that to me?”). We investigated these two possibilities here by examining how the looking behavior of recipients affects pointing in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Upon pointing to food, subjects were faced with a recipient who either looked at the indicated object (successful-look) or failed to look at the indicated object (failed-look). We predicted that, if apes point primarily to direct attention, subjects would spend more time pointing in the failed-look condition because the goal of their gesture had not been met. Alternatively, we expected that, if apes point primarily to request an object, subjects would not differ in their pointing behavior between the successful-look and failed-look conditions because these conditions differed only in the looking behavior of the recipient. We found that subjects did differ in their pointing behavior across the successful-look and failed-look conditions, but contrary to our prediction subjects spent more time pointing in the successful-look condition. These results suggest that apes are sensitive to the attentional states of gestural recipients, but their adjustments are aimed at multiple goals. We also found a greater number of individuals with a strong right-hand than left-hand preference for pointing. PMID:29694358

Pre-steady-state fluorescence analysis of damaged DNA transfer from human DNA glycosylases to AP endonuclease APE1.

PubMed

Kuznetsova, Alexandra A; Kuznetsov, Nikita A; Ishchenko, Alexander A; Saparbaev, Murat K; Fedorova, Olga S

2014-10-01

DNA glycosylases remove the modified, damaged or mismatched bases from the DNA by hydrolyzing the N-glycosidic bonds. Some enzymes can further catalyze the incision of a resulting abasic (apurinic/apyrimidinic, AP) site through β- or β,δ-elimination mechanisms. In most cases, the incision reaction of the AP-site is catalyzed by special enzymes called AP-endonucleases. Here, we report the kinetic analysis of the mechanisms of modified DNA transfer from some DNA glycosylases to the AP endonuclease, APE1. The modified DNA contained the tetrahydrofurane residue (F), the analogue of the AP-site. DNA glycosylases AAG, OGG1, NEIL1, MBD4(cat) and UNG from different structural superfamilies were used. We found that all DNA glycosylases may utilise direct protein-protein interactions in the transient ternary complex for the transfer of the AP-containing DNA strand to APE1. We hypothesize a fast "flip-flop" exchange mechanism of damaged and undamaged DNA strands within this complex for monofunctional DNA glycosylases like MBD4(cat), AAG and UNG. Bifunctional DNA glycosylase NEIL1 creates tightly specific complex with DNA containing F-site thereby efficiently competing with APE1. Whereas APE1 fast displaces other bifunctional DNA glycosylase OGG1 on F-site thereby induces its shifts to undamaged DNA regions. Kinetic analysis of the transfer of DNA between human DNA glycosylases and APE1 allows us to elucidate the critical step in the base excision repair pathway. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Brief communication: Testing the usefulness of the basilar suture as a means to determine age in great ape skeletons.

PubMed

Poe, Demelza J

2011-01-01

A fused/closed basilar suture is usually treated as an indication of old age in great apes. A sample, drawn from a variety of sources, of known-aged captive great ape skeletons was analyzed to test the usefulness of using the basilar suture to categorize adult skeletons as either "adult" or "old adult". The state of closure of the basilar suture was examined in 30 chimpanzees, 19 gorillas, and 15 orangutans, all of known age. The results show that the basilar suture demonstrates a high level of uniformity in rate of closure and is closed at an early age in virtually all known-aged individuals. Thus, an old adult category most likely includes individuals who are, in fact, relatively young. This indicates that using the basilar suture as a means to classify individual skeletons as adult or old adult is very imprecise. The homogenous nature of basilar suture closure appears to prevent meaningful application of suture status for categorizing adult ape skeletons by age groups.

Cloning and Characterization of a Wheat Homologue of Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease Ape1L

PubMed Central

Grin, Inga R.; Zharkov, Dmitry O.; Ishenko, Alexander A.; Tudek, Barbara; Bissenbaev, Amangeldy K.; Saparbaev, Murat

2014-01-01

Background Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases are key DNA repair enzymes involved in the base excision repair (BER) pathway. In BER, an AP endonuclease cleaves DNA at AP sites and 3′-blocking moieties generated by DNA glycosylases and/or oxidative damage. A Triticum aestivum cDNA encoding for a putative homologue of ExoIII family AP endonucleases which includes E. coli Xth, human APE1 and Arabidopsis thaliana AtApe1L has been isolated and its protein product purified and characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings We report that the putative wheat AP endonuclease, referred here as TaApe1L, contains AP endonuclease, 3′-repair phosphodiesterase, 3′-phosphatase and 3′→5′ exonuclease activities. Surprisingly, in contrast to bacterial and human AP endonucleases, addition of Mg2+ and Ca2+ (5–10 mM) to the reaction mixture inhibited TaApe1L whereas the presence of Mn2+, Co2+ and Fe2+ cations (0.1–1.0 mM) strongly stimulated all its DNA repair activities. Optimization of the reaction conditions revealed that the wheat enzyme requires low divalent cation concentration (0.1 mM), mildly acidic pH (6–7), low ionic strength (20 mM KCl) and has a temperature optimum at around 20°C. The steady-state kinetic parameters of enzymatic reactions indicate that TaApe1L removes 3′-blocking sugar-phosphate and 3′-phosphate groups with good efficiency (k cat/K M = 630 and 485 μM−1·min−1, respectively) but possesses a very weak AP endonuclease activity as compared to the human homologue, APE1. Conclusions/Significance Taken together, these data establish the DNA substrate specificity of the wheat AP endonuclease and suggest its possible role in the repair of DNA damage generated by endogenous and environmental factors. PMID:24667595

Distal Communication by Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for Common Ground?

PubMed

Leavens, David A; Reamer, Lisa A; Mareno, Mary Catherine; Russell, Jamie L; Wilson, Daniel; Schapiro, Steven J; Hopkins, William D

2015-01-01

van der Goot et al. (2014) proposed that distal, deictic communication indexed the appreciation of the psychological state of a common ground between a signaler and a receiver. In their study, great apes did not signal distally, which they construed as evidence for the human uniqueness of a sense of common ground. This study exposed 166 chimpanzees to food and an experimenter, at an angular displacement, to ask, "Do chimpanzees display distal communication?" Apes were categorized as (a) proximal or (b) distal signalers on each of four trials. The number of chimpanzees who communicated proximally did not statistically differ from the number who signaled distally. Therefore, contrary to the claim by van der Goot et al., apes do communicate distally. © 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Utility values in the visually impaired: comparing time-trade off and VisQoL.

PubMed

Gothwal, Vijaya K; Bagga, Deepak K

2013-08-01

Visual impairment (VI) negatively affects quality of life (QoL). Utilities represent a way of measuring the QoL impact associated with a particular health state, like VI, and are also useful in economic evaluations of health care interventions. Utilities can be determined either directly or indirectly. Here we determine whether the Vision and Quality of Life Index, VisQoL (indirect approach), is acceptable to use in patients with VI in an urban setting in South India; whether the VisQoL utility values, derived from an Australian sample of both visually impaired and normally sighted participants, demonstrate agreement (if any) with direct utilities, determined by time trade-off (TTO), from visually impaired South Indian patients; and determine the relationship between utilities and self-reported visual disability. Three hundred forty-nine adults with VI were administered the two-item TTO item, six-item VisQoL, and the 16-item Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease-Visual Function Questionnaire (APEDS-VFQ) in a face-to-face interview. The VisQoL utilities were derived from the utility scoring algorithm. Rasch-scaled scores of the APEDS-VFQ were obtained using the conversion scores sheets. Agreement between TTO and utilities VisQoL was assessed using the Bland-Altman method. All participants (response rate, 100%) completed the VisQoL as compared with 72% for the TTO. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean utilities from the two methods (0.65 ± 0.31 by TTO vs. 0.66 ± 0.27 by VisQoL, p = 0.67). However, the 95% limits of agreement on the Bland-Altman plot were wide (-0.65, 0.67), implying a lack of agreement between the methods. The VisQoL relates relatively strongly with APEDS-VFQ as compared with TTO (TTO vs. APEDS-VFQ, r = -0.23, VisQoL vs. APEDS-VFQ, r = -0.66, z = -6.70; p < 0.001 for both). Older participants, female, and those with less than 12 years of education had lower utilities. The direct (TTO) and indirect (VisQoL) methods of utility evaluation tend to disagree in our patients with VI. Given the high completion rates of the VisQoL as compared with the TTO, the VisQoL may be a suitable alternative for utility assessment in an Indian population.

Extralevator Abdominoperineal Excision for Low Rectal Cancer—Extensive Surgery to Be Used With Discretion Based on 3-Year Local Recurrence Results

PubMed Central

Prytz, Mattias; Angenete, Eva; Bock, David; Haglind, Eva

2016-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this prospective registry-based population study was to investigate the efficacy of extralevator abdominoperineal excision (ELAPE) regarding local recurrence rates within 3 years after surgery. Background: Local recurrence of rectal cancer is more common after abdominoperineal excision (APE) than after anterior resection. Extralevator abdominoperineal excision was introduced to address this problem. No large-scale studies with long-term oncological outcomes have been published. Methods: All Swedish patients operated on with an APE and registered in the Swedish ColoRectal Cancer Registry 2007 to 2009 were included (n = 1397) and analyzed with emphasis on the perineal part of the operation. Local recurrence at 3 years was collected from the registry. Results: The local recurrence rates at 3 years [median follow-up, 3.43 years (APE, 3.37 years; ELAPE, 3.41 years; not stated: 3.43 years)] were significantly higher for ELAPE compared with APE (relative risk, 4.91). Perioperative perforation was also associated with an increased risk of local recurrence (relative risk, 3.62). There was no difference in 3-year overall survival between APE and ELAPE. In the subgroup of patients with very low tumors (≤4 cm from the anal verge), no significant difference in the local recurrence rate could be observed. Conclusions: Extralevator abdominoperineal excision results in a significantly increased 3-year local recurrence rate as compared with standard APE. Intraoperative perforation seems to be an important risk factor for local recurrence. In addition to significantly increased 3-year local recurrence rates, the significantly increased incidence of wound complications leads to the conclusion that ELAPE should only be considered in selected patients at risk of intraoperative perforation. PMID:25906414

The shape of the hominoid proximal femur: a geometric morphometric analysis

PubMed Central

Harmon, Elizabeth H

2007-01-01

As part of the hip joint, the proximal femur is an integral locomotor component. Although a link between locomotion and the morphology of some aspects of the proximal femur has been identified, inclusive shapes of this element have not been compared among behaviourally heterogeneous hominoids. Previous analyses have partitioned complex proximal femoral morphology into discrete features (e.g. head, neck, greater trochanter) to facilitate conventional linear measurements. In this study, three-dimensional geometric morphometrics are used to examine the shape of the proximal femur in hominoids to determine whether femoral shape co-varies with locomotor category. Fourteen landmarks are recorded on adult femora of Homo, Pan, Gorilla, Pongo and Hylobates. Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA) is used to adjust for position, orientation and scale among landmark configurations. Principal components analysis is used to collapse and compare variation in residuals from GPA, and thin-plate spline analysis is used to visualize shape change among taxa. The results indicate that knucklewalking African apes are similar to one another in femoral shape, whereas the more suspensory Asian apes diverge from the African ape pattern. The shape of the human and orangutan proximal femur converge, a result that is best explained in terms of the distinct requirements for locomotion in each group. These findings suggest that the shape of the proximal femur is brought about primarily by locomotor behaviour. PMID:17310545

DNA repair enzyme APE1 from evolutionarily ancient Hydra reveals redox activity exclusively found in mammalian APE1.

PubMed

Pekhale, Komal; Haval, Gauri; Perween, Nusrat; Antoniali, Giulia; Tell, Gianluca; Ghaskadbi, Surendra; Ghaskadbi, Saroj

2017-11-01

Only mammalian apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease1 (APE1) has been reported to possess both DNA repair and redox activities. C terminal of the protein is required for base excision repair, while the redox activity resides in the N terminal due to cysteine residues at specific positions. APE1s from other organisms studied so far lack the redox activity in spite of having the N terminal domain. We find that APE1 from the Cnidarian Hydra exhibits both endonuclease and redox activities similar to mammalian APE1. We further show the presence of the three indispensable cysteines in Hydra APE1 for redox activity by site directed mutagenesis. Importance of redox domain but not the repair domain of APE1 in regeneration has been demonstrated by using domain-specific inhibitors. Our findings clearly demonstrate that the redox function of APE1 evolved very early in metazoan evolution and is not a recent acquisition in mammalian APE1 as believed so far. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Proximal antecedents and correlates of adopted error approach: a self-regulatory perspective.

PubMed

Van Dyck, Cathy; Van Hooft, Edwin; De Gilder, Dick; Liesveld, Lillian

2010-01-01

The current study aims to further investigate earlier established advantages of an error mastery approach over an error aversion approach. The two main purposes of the study relate to (1) self-regulatory traits (i.e., goal orientation and action-state orientation) that may predict which error approach (mastery or aversion) is adopted, and (2) proximal, psychological processes (i.e., self-focused attention and failure attribution) that relate to adopted error approach. In the current study participants' goal orientation and action-state orientation were assessed, after which they worked on an error-prone task. Results show that learning goal orientation related to error mastery, while state orientation related to error aversion. Under a mastery approach, error occurrence did not result in cognitive resources "wasted" on self-consciousness. Rather, attention went to internal-unstable, thus controllable, improvement oriented causes of error. Participants that had adopted an aversion approach, in contrast, experienced heightened self-consciousness and attributed failure to internal-stable or external causes. These results imply that when working on an error-prone task, people should be stimulated to take on a mastery rather than an aversion approach towards errors.

On Examining the Transport and Transformation of Dissolved Organic Matter in The Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System, NC USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, R. L.; Buonassissi, C. J.; Brown, M. M.; Reed, R. E.

2016-02-01

The Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES) in eastern North Carolina is the second largest estuary and largest lagoonal system in the United States. Variation in the amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM) delivered to the APES was examined for the Neuse and Tar/Pamlico River estuaries, two major components of the APES, using absorption spectra of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM). The quality of DOM and transformations that occur during down estuary transport were assessed using the spectral parameters SUVA254, SUVA350, S275-295, S350-400, and Sr calculated from CDOM spectra. We present results from several field campaigns that obtained surface samples during different stages of river discharge, including samples taken following Hurricane Irene (2011), and discuss the utility of using these newer optical indices of DOM quality for examining DOM dynamics in river dominated coastal waters.

APE1/Ref-1 as an emerging therapeutic target for various human diseases: phytochemical modulation of its functions

PubMed Central

Thakur, Shweta; Sarkar, Bibekananda; Cholia, Ravi P; Gautam, Nandini; Dhiman, Monisha; Mantha, Anil K

2014-01-01

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is a multifunctional enzyme involved in the base excision repair (BER) pathway, which repairs oxidative base damage caused by endogenous and exogenous agents. APE1 acts as a reductive activator of many transcription factors (TFs) and has also been named redox effector factor 1, Ref-1. For example, APE1 activates activator protein-1, nuclear factor kappa B, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, paired box gene 8, signal transducer activator of transcription 3 and p53, which are involved in apoptosis, inflammation, angiogenesis and survival pathways. APE1/Ref-1 maintains cellular homeostasis (redox) via the activation of TFs that regulate various physiological processes and that crosstalk with redox balancing agents (for example, thioredoxin, catalase and superoxide dismutase) by controlling levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The efficiency of APE1/Ref-1's function(s) depends on pairwise interaction with participant protein(s), the functions regulated by APE1/Ref-1 include the BER pathway, TFs, energy metabolism, cytoskeletal elements and stress-dependent responses. Thus, APE1/Ref-1 acts as a ‘hub-protein' that controls pathways that are important for cell survival. In this review, we will discuss APE1/Ref-1's versatile nature in various human etiologies, including neurodegeneration, cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases that have been linked with alterations in the expression, subcellular localization and activities of APE/Ref-1. APE1/Ref-1 can be targeted for therapeutic intervention using natural plant products that modulate the expression and functions of APE1/Ref-1. In addition, studies focusing on translational applications based on APE1/Ref-1-mediated therapeutic interventions are discussed. PMID:25033834

Polyubiquitination of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 by Parkin.

PubMed

Scott, Timothy L; Wicker, Christina A; Suganya, Rangaswamy; Dhar, Bithika; Pittman, Thomas; Horbinski, Craig; Izumi, Tadahide

2017-02-01

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is an essential protein crucial for repair of oxidized DNA damage not only in genomic DNA but also in mitochondrial DNA. Parkin, a tumor suppressor and Parkinson's disease (PD) associated gene, is an E3 ubiquitin ligase crucial for mitophagy. Although DNA damage is known to induce mitochondrial stress, Parkin's role in regulating DNA repair proteins has not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the possibility of Parkin-dependent ubiquitination of APE1. Ectopically expressed APE1 was degraded by Parkin and PINK1 via polyubiquitination in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. PD-causing mutations in Parkin and PINK1 abrogated APE1 ubiquitination. Interaction of APE1 with Parkin was observed by co-immunoprecipitation, proximity ligation assay, and co-localization in the cytoplasm. N-terminal deletion of 41 amino acid residues in APE1 significantly reduced the Parkin-dependent APE1 degradation. These results suggested that Parkin directly ubiquitinated N-terminal Lys residues in APE1 in the cytoplasm. Modulation of Parkin and PINK1 activities under mitochondrial or oxidative stress caused moderate but statistically significant decrease of endogenous APE1 in human cell lines including SH-SY5Y, HEK293, and A549 cells. Analyses of glioblastoma tissues showed an inverse relation between the expression levels of APE1 and Parkin. These results suggest that degradation of endogenous APE1 by Parkin occur when cells are stressed to activate Parkin, and imply a role of Parkin in maintaining the quality of APE1, and loss of Parkin may contribute to elevated APE1 levels in glioblastoma. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Prognostic Significance of Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease (APE/Ref-1) Expression in Rectal Cancer Treated With Preoperative Radiochemotherapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jun-Sang, E-mail: k423j@cnu.ac.kr; Cancer Research Institute, Chungnam National University, Daejeon; Kim, Jin-Man

Purpose: Human apurinic endonuclease/redox factor 1 (APE/Ref-1) mediates repair of radiation-induced DNA lesions and regulates transcription via redox-based activation. We investigated the predictive and prognostic significance of APE/Ref-1 expression in pretreatment biopsy specimens in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) (cT3-T4 or N+). Methods and Materials: APE/Ref-1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in pretreatment biopsy specimens obtained from 83 patients with LARC. Patients received preoperative radiotherapy of 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions, combined with oral capecitabine and leucovorin chemotherapy, followed by curative surgery. The prognostic significance of various clinicopathologic characteristics, including APE/Ref-1 protein expression, was evaluated. Results: APE/Ref-1 was expressed inmore » 97% of patient samples. Exclusive APE/Ref-1 nuclear staining was observed in 49 of 83 samples (59%), and mixed nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was observed in 31 samples (37%). APE/Ref-1 nuclear expression levels were low in 49 patients (59%) and high in 34 patients (41%). The level of APE/Ref-1 nuclear expression was not a prognostic factor for overall and disease-free survival. Cytoplasmic expression of APE/Ref-1 was a borderline-significant predictive factor for pathologic tumor response (p = 0.08) and a significant prognostic factor for disease-free survival, as shown by univariate analysis (p = 0.037). Multivariate analysis confirmed that cytoplasmic localization of APE/Ref-1 is a significant predictor of disease-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.45; p = 0.046). Conclusions: APE/Ref-1 was expressed in a majority of pretreatment biopsy specimens from patients with LARC. The level of APE/Ref-1 nuclear expression was not a significant predictive and prognostic factor; however, cytoplasmic localization of the protein was negatively associated with disease-free survival. These results indicate that cytoplasmic expression of APE/Ref-1 represents an adverse prognostic factor for LARC patients who receive preoperative radiochemotherapy.« less

An FP7 "Space" project: Aphorism "Advanced PRocedures for volcanic and Seismic Monitoring"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Iorio, A., Sr.; Stramondo, S.; Bignami, C.; Corradini, S.; Merucci, L.

2014-12-01

APHORISM project proposes the development and testing of two new methods to combine Earth Observation satellite data from different sensors, and ground data. The aim is to demonstrate that this two types of data, appropriately managed and integrated, can provide new improved GMES products useful for seismic and volcanic crisis management. The first method, APE - A Priori information for Earthquake damage mapping, concerns the generation of maps to address the detection and estimate of damage caused by a seism. The use of satellite data to investigate earthquake damages is not an innovative issue. We can find a wide literature and projects concerning such issue, but usually the approach is only based on change detection techniques and classifications algorithms. The novelty of APE relies on the exploitation of a priori information derived by InSAR time series to measure surface movements, shake maps obtained from seismological data, and vulnerability information. This a priori information is then integrated with change detection map to improve accuracy and to limit false alarms. The second method deals with volcanic crisis management. The method, MACE - Multi-platform volcanic Ash Cloud Estimation, concerns the exploitation of GEO (Geosynchronous Earth Orbit) sensor platform, LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite sensors and ground measures to improve the ash detection and retrieval and to characterize the volcanic ash clouds. The basic idea of MACE consists of an improvement of volcanic ash retrievals at the space-time scale by using both the LEO and GEO estimations and in-situ data. Indeed the standard ash thermal infrared retrieval is integrated with data coming from a wider spectral range from visible to microwave. The ash detection is also extended in case of cloudy atmosphere or steam plumes. APE and MACE methods have been defined in order to provide products oriented toward the next ESA Sentinels satellite missions.The project is funded under the European Union FP7 program and the Kick-Off meeting has been held at INGV premises in Rome on 18th December 2013.

Characterization of six human disease-associated inversion polymorphisms.

PubMed

Antonacci, Francesca; Kidd, Jeffrey M; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Ventura, Mario; Siswara, Priscillia; Jiang, Zhaoshi; Eichler, Evan E

2009-07-15

The human genome is a highly dynamic structure that shows a wide range of genetic polymorphic variation. Unlike other types of structural variation, little is known about inversion variants within normal individuals because such events are typically balanced and are difficult to detect and analyze by standard molecular approaches. Using sequence-based, cytogenetic and genotyping approaches, we characterized six large inversion polymorphisms that map to regions associated with genomic disorders with complex segmental duplications mapping at the breakpoints. We developed a metaphase FISH-based assay to genotype inversions and analyzed the chromosomes of 27 individuals from three HapMap populations. In this subset, we find that these inversions are less frequent or absent in Asians when compared with European and Yoruban populations. Analyzing multiple individuals from outgroup species of great apes, we show that most of these large inversion polymorphisms are specific to the human lineage with two exceptions, 17q21.31 and 8p23 inversions, which are found to be similarly polymorphic in other great ape species and where the inverted allele represents the ancestral state. Investigating linkage disequilibrium relationships with genotyped SNPs, we provide evidence that most of these inversions appear to have arisen on at least two different haplotype backgrounds. In these cases, discovery and genotyping methods based on SNPs may be confounded and molecular cytogenetics remains the only method to genotype these inversions.

Apoptosis-Resistant Cardiac Progenitor Cells Modified With Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease/Redox Factor 1 Gene Overexpression Regulate Cardiac Repair After Myocardial Infarction.

PubMed

Aonuma, Tatsuya; Takehara, Naofumi; Maruyama, Keisuke; Kabara, Maki; Matsuki, Motoki; Yamauchi, Atsushi; Kawabe, Jun-Ichi; Hasebe, Naoyuki

2016-08-01

: Overcoming the insufficient survival of cell grafts is an essential objective in cell-based therapy. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease/redox factor 1 (APE1) promotes cell survival and may enhance the therapeutic effect of engrafted cells. The aim of this study is to determine whether APE1 overexpression in cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) could ameliorate the efficiency of cell-based therapy. CPCs isolated from 8- to 10-week-old C57BL/6 mouse hearts were infected with retrovirus harboring APE1-DsRed (APE1-CPC) or a DsRed control (control-CPC). Oxidative stress-induced apoptosis was then assessed in APE1-CPCs, control-CPCs, and neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) cocultured with these CPCs. This analysis revealed that APE1 overexpression inhibited CPC apoptosis with activation of transforming growth factor β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. In the coculture model, NRVM apoptosis was inhibited to a greater extent in the presence of APE1-CPCs compared with control-CPCs. Moreover, the number of surviving DsRed-positive CPC grafts was significantly higher 7 days after the transplant of APE1-CPCs into a mouse myocardial infarction model, and the left ventricular ejection fraction showed greater improvement with attenuation of fibrosis 28 days after the transplant of APE1-CPCs compared with control-CPCs. Additionally, fewer inflammatory macrophages and a higher percentage of cardiac α-sarcomeric actinin-positive CPC-grafts were observed in mice injected with APE1-CPCs compared with control-CPCs after 7 days. In conclusion, antiapoptotic APE1-CPC graft, which increased TAK1-NF-κB pathway activation, survived effectively in the ischemic heart, restored cardiac function, and reduced cardiac inflammation and fibrosis. APE1 overexpression in CPCs may serve as a novel strategy to improve cardiac cell therapy. Improving the survival of cell grafts is essential to maximize the efficacy of cell therapy. The authors investigated the role of APE1 in CPCs under ischemic conditions and evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of transplanted APE1-overexpressing CPCs in a mouse model of myocardial infarction. APE1 hindered apoptosis in CPC grafts subjected to oxidative stress caused in part by increased TAK1-NF-κB pathway activation. Furthermore, APE1-CPC grafts that effectively survived in the ischemic heart restored cardiac function and attenuated fibrosis through pleiotropic mechanisms that remain to be characterized. These findings suggest that APE1 overexpression in CPCs may be a novel strategy to reinforce cardiac cell therapy. ©AlphaMed Press.

Differences in the early cognitive development of children and great apes.

PubMed

Wobber, Victoria; Herrmann, Esther; Hare, Brian; Wrangham, Richard; Tomasello, Michael

2014-04-01

There is very little research comparing great ape and human cognition developmentally. In the current studies we compared a cross-sectional sample of 2- to 4-year-old human children (n=48) with a large sample of chimpanzees and bonobos in the same age range (n=42, hereafter: apes) on a broad array of cognitive tasks. We then followed a group of juvenile apes (n=44) longitudinally over 3 years to track their cognitive development in greater detail. In skills of physical cognition (space, causality, quantities), children and apes performed comparably at 2 years of age, but by 4 years of age children were more advanced (whereas apes stayed at their 2-year-old performance levels). In skills of social cognition (communication, social learning, theory of mind), children out-performed apes already at 2 years, and increased this difference even more by 4 years. Patterns of development differed more between children and apes in the social domain than the physical domain, with support for these patterns present in both the cross-sectional and longitudinal ape data sets. These results indicate key differences in the pattern and pace of cognitive development between humans and other apes, particularly in the early emergence of specific social cognitive capacities in humans. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Human quarantine: Toward reducing infectious pressure on chimpanzees at the Taï Chimpanzee Project, Côte d'Ivoire.

PubMed

Grützmacher, Kim; Keil, Verena; Leinert, Vera; Leguillon, Floraine; Henlin, Arthur; Couacy-Hymann, Emmanuel; Köndgen, Sophie; Lang, Alexander; Deschner, Tobias; Wittig, Roman M; Leendertz, Fabian H

2018-01-01

Due to their genetic relatedness, great apes are highly susceptible to common human respiratory pathogens. Although most respiratory pathogens, such as human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) and human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rarely cause severe disease in healthy human adults, they are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in wild great apes habituated to humans for research or tourism. To prevent pathogen transmission, most great ape projects have established a set of hygiene measures ranging from keeping a specific distance, to the use of surgical masks and establishment of quarantines. This study investigates the incidence of respiratory symptoms and human respiratory viruses in humans at a human-great ape interface, the Taï Chimpanzee Project (TCP) in Côte d'Ivoire, and consequently, the effectiveness of a 5-day quarantine designed to reduce the risk of potential exposure to human respiratory pathogens. To assess the impact of quarantine as a preventative measure, we monitored the quarantine process and tested 262 throat swabs for respiratory viruses, collected during quarantine over a period of 1 year. Although only 1 subject tested positive for a respiratory virus (HRSV), 17 subjects developed symptoms of infection while in quarantine and were subsequently kept from approaching the chimpanzees, preventing potential exposure in 18 cases. Our results suggest that quarantine-in combination with monitoring for symptoms-is effective in reducing the risk of potential pathogen exposure. This research contributes to our understanding of how endangered great apes can be protected from human-borne infectious disease. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).

PubMed

Herrmann, Esther; Keupp, Stefanie; Hare, Brian; Vaish, Amrisha; Tomasello, Michael

2013-02-01

Humans make decisions about when and with whom to cooperate based on their reputations. People either learn about others by direct interaction or by observing third-party interactions or gossip. An important question is whether other animal species, especially our closest living relatives, the nonhuman great apes, also form reputations of others. In Study 1, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human children experienced a nice experimenter who tried to give food/toys to the subject and a mean experimenter who interrupted the food/toy giving. In studies 2 and 3, nonhuman great apes and human children could only passively observe a similar interaction, in which a nice experimenter and a mean experimenter interacted with a third party. Orangutans and 2.5-year-old human children preferred to approach the nice experimenter rather than the mean one after having directly experienced their respective behaviors. Orangutans, chimpanzees, and 2.5-year-old human children also took into account experimenter actions toward third parties in forming reputations. These studies show that the human ability to form direct and indirect reputation judgment is already present in young children and shared with at least some of the other great apes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Capturing Snapshots of APE1 Processing DNA Damage

PubMed Central

Freudenthal, Bret D.; Beard, William A.; Cuneo, Matthew J.; Dyrkheeva, Nadezhda S.; Wilson, Samuel H.

2015-01-01

DNA apurinic-apyrimidinic (AP) sites are prevalent non-coding threats to genomic stability and are processed by AP endonuclease 1 (APE1). APE1 incises the AP-site phosphodiester backbone, generating a DNA repair intermediate that is potentially cytotoxic. The molecular events of the incision reaction remain elusive due in part to limited structural information. We report multiple high-resolution human APE1:DNA structures that divulge novel features of the APE1 reaction, including the metal binding site, nucleophile, and arginine clamps that mediate product release. We also report APE1:DNA structures with a T:G mismatch 5′ to the AP-site, representing a clustered lesion occurring in methylated CpG dinucleotides. These reveal that APE1 molds the T:G mismatch into a unique Watson-Crick like geometry that distorts the active site reducing incision. These snapshots provide mechanistic clarity for APE1, while affording a rational framework to manipulate biological responses to DNA damage. PMID:26458045

Capturing snapshots of APE1 processing DNA damage

DOE PAGES

Freudenthal, Bret D.; Beard, William A.; Cuneo, Matthew J.; ...

2015-10-12

DNA apurinic-apyrimidinic (AP) sites are prevalent noncoding threats to genomic stability and are processed by AP endonuclease 1 (APE1). APE1 incises the AP-site phosphodiester backbone, generating a DNA-repair intermediate that is potentially cytotoxic. The molecular events of the incision reaction remain elusive, owing in part to limited structural information. Here we report multiple high-resolution human APE1-DNA structures that divulge new features of the APE1 reaction, including the metal-binding site, the nucleophile and the arginine clamps that mediate product release. We also report APE1-DNA structures with a T-G mismatch 5' to the AP site, representing a clustered lesion occurring in methylatedmore » CpG dinucleotides. Moreover, these structures reveal that APE1 molds the T-G mismatch into a unique Watson-Crick-like geometry that distorts the active site, thus reducing incision. Finally, these snapshots provide mechanistic clarity for APE1 while affording a rational framework to manipulate biological responses to DNA damage.« less

Tat-APE1/ref-1 protein inhibits TNF-{alpha}-induced endothelial cell activation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Yun Jeong; Lee, Ji Young; Joo, Hee Kyoung

2008-03-28

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox factor-1 (APE1/ref-1) is a multifunctional protein involved both in DNA base excision repair and redox regulation. In this study we evaluated the protective role of Tat-mediated APE1/ref-1 transduction on the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-{alpha}-activated endothelial activation in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. To construct Tat-APE1/ref-1 fusion protein, human full length of APE1/ref-1 was fused with Tat-protein transduction domain. Purified Tat-APE1/ref-1 fusion protein efficiently transduced cultured endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner and reached maximum expression at 1 h after incubation. Transduced Tat-APE1/ref-1 showed inhibitory activity on the TNF-{alpha}-induced monocyte adhesion and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expressionmore » in cultured endothelial cells. These results suggest Tat-APE1/ref-1 might be useful to reduce vascular endothelial activation or vascular inflammatory disorders.« less

Lucanthone and Its Derivative Hycanthone Inhibit Apurinic Endonuclease-1 (APE1) by Direct Protein Binding

PubMed Central

Naidu, Mamta D.; Agarwal, Rakhi; Pena, Louis A.; Cunha, Luis; Mezei, Mihaly; Shen, Min; Wilson, David M.; Liu, Yuan; Sanchez, Zina; Chaudhary, Pankaj; Wilson, Samuel H.; Waring, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Lucanthone and hycanthone are thioxanthenone DNA intercalators used in the 1980s as antitumor agents. Lucanthone is in Phase I clinical trial, whereas hycanthone was pulled out of Phase II trials. Their potential mechanism of action includes DNA intercalation, inhibition of nucleic acid biosyntheses, and inhibition of enzymes like topoisomerases and the dual function base excision repair enzyme apurinic endonuclease 1 (APE1). Lucanthone inhibits the endonuclease activity of APE1, without affecting its redox activity. Our goal was to decipher the precise mechanism of APE1 inhibition as a prerequisite towards development of improved therapeutics that can counteract higher APE1 activity often seen in tumors. The IC50 values for inhibition of APE1 incision of depurinated plasmid DNA by lucanthone and hycanthone were 5 µM and 80 nM, respectively. The KD values (affinity constants) for APE1, as determined by BIACORE binding studies, were 89 nM for lucanthone/10 nM for hycanthone. APE1 structures reveal a hydrophobic pocket where hydrophobic small molecules like thioxanthenones can bind, and our modeling studies confirmed such docking. Circular dichroism spectra uncovered change in the helical structure of APE1 in the presence of lucanthone/hycanthone, and notably, this effect was decreased (Phe266Ala or Phe266Cys or Trp280Leu) or abolished (Phe266Ala/Trp280Ala) when hydrophobic site mutants were employed. Reduced inhibition by lucanthone of the diminished endonuclease activity of hydrophobic mutant proteins (as compared to wild type APE1) supports that binding of lucanthone to the hydrophobic pocket dictates APE1 inhibition. The DNA binding capacity of APE1 was marginally inhibited by lucanthone, and not at all by hycanthone, supporting our hypothesis that thioxanthenones inhibit APE1, predominantly, by direct interaction. Finally, lucanthone-induced degradation was drastically reduced in the presence of short and long lived free radical scavengers, e.g., TRIS and DMSO, suggesting that the mechanism of APE1 breakdown may involve free radical-induced peptide bond cleavage. PMID:21935361

Cortical orofacial motor representation in Old World monkeys, great apes, and humans. II. Stereologic analysis of chemoarchitecture.

PubMed

Sherwood, Chet C; Holloway, Ralph L; Erwin, Joseph M; Hof, Patrick R

2004-01-01

This study presents a comparative stereologic investigation of neurofilament protein- and calcium-binding protein-immunoreactive neurons within the region of orofacial representation of primary motor cortex (Brodmann's area 4) in several catarrhine primate species (Macaca fascicularis, Papio anubis, Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, and Homo sapiens). Results showed that the density of interneurons involved in vertical interlaminar processing (i.e., calbindin- and calretinin-immunoreactive neurons) as well pyramidal neurons that supply heavily-myelinated projections (i.e., neurofilament protein-immunoreactive neurons) are correlated with overall neuronal density, whereas interneurons making transcolumnar connections (i.e., parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons) do not exhibit such a relationship. These results suggest that differential scaling rules apply to different neuronal subtypes depending on their functional role in cortical circuitry. For example, cortical columns across catarrhine species appear to involve a similar conserved network of intracolumnar inhibitory interconnections, as represented by the distribution of calbindin- and calretinin-immunoreactive neurons. The subpopulation of horizontally-oriented wide-arbor interneurons, on the other hand, increases in density relative to other interneuron subpopulations in large brains. Due to these scaling trends, the region of orofacial representation of primary motor cortex in great apes and humans is characterized by a greater proportion of neurons enriched in neurofilament protein and parvalbumin compared to the Old World monkeys examined. These modifications might contribute to the voluntary dexterous control of orofacial muscles in great ape and human communication. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 Is the Essential Nuclease during Immunoglobulin Class Switch Recombination

PubMed Central

Masani, Shahnaz; Han, Li

2013-01-01

Immunoglobulin (Ig) class switch recombination (CSR) is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) that catalyzes numerous DNA cytosine deaminations within switch regions. The resulting uracils are processed by uracil base excision and/or mismatch repair enzymes that ultimately generate switch region DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Uracil glycosylase 2 (UNG2) is required for CSR, most likely by removing uracils to generate abasic sites. Although it is presumed that the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) generates DNA strand incisions (a prerequisite for CSR) at these abasic sites, a direct test of the requirement for APE1 in CSR has been difficult because of the embryonic lethality of APE1 ablation in mice. Here, we report the successful deletion of the APE1 gene in a mouse B cell line (CH12F3) capable of robust CSR in vitro. In contrast to the general assumption that APE1 is essential for cellular viability, deletion of APE1 in CH12F3 cells has no apparent effect on cell viability or growth. Moreover, CSR in APE1-null CH12F3 cells is drastically reduced, providing direct evidence for an essential role for APE1 in switch region cleavage and CSR. Finally, deletion of AP endonuclease 2 (APE2) has no effect on CSR in either APE1-proficient or -deficient cells. PMID:23382073

The role of past interactions in great apes' communication about absent entities.

PubMed

Bohn, Manuel; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2016-11-01

Recent evidence suggests that great apes can use the former location of an entity to communicate about it. In this study we built on these findings to investigate the social-cognitive foundations of great apes' communicative abilities. We tested whether great apes (n = 35) would adjust their requests for absent entities to previous interactions they had with their interlocutor. We manipulated the apes' experience with respect to the interlocutor's knowledge about the previous content of the now-empty location as well as their experience with the interlocutor's competence to provide additional food items. We found that apes adjusted their requests to both of these aspects but failed to integrate them with one another. These results demonstrate a surprising amount of flexibility in great apes' communicative abilities while at the same time suggesting some important limitations in their social communicative skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Non-goal-directed recall of specific events in apes after long delays.

PubMed

Lewis, Amy; Call, Josep; Berntsen, Dorthe

2017-07-12

We examined if apes spontaneously remember one-time, distinctive events across long delays when probed by discriminant cues. Apes witnessed an experimenter hide a cache of food, which they could then retrieve. They retrieved one of two food types; one more distinctive than the other. Two, 10 or 50 weeks later, the apes returned to the same enclosure and found a piece of the previously hidden food on the ground. An experimenter who had not hidden the food was also present. Apes immediately searched the location where the food was previously hidden (no food was here), showing recall of the event. One week later, apes returned to the same enclosure, with the same food on the ground, but now the experimenter that had hidden the food was present. Again, apes immediately searched the hiding location. Apes that had not witnessed the hiding event did not search. There was no significant effect of food type, and retention declined from exposure to the two-week delay, then levelled, consistent with the forgetting curve in humans (Ebbinghaus, H. 1964 Memory: a contribution to experimental psychology (transl. H.A. Ruger & C.E. Bussenvis). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1885.)). This is the first study to show apes can recall a one-time, non-goal-directed event longer than two weeks ago and that apes' recall declines in accordance with a standard retention function. © 2017 The Author(s).

Apes have culture but may not know that they do

PubMed Central

Gruber, Thibaud; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Clément, Fabrice; van Schaik, Carel

2015-01-01

There is good evidence that some ape behaviors can be transmitted socially and that this can lead to group-specific traditions. However, many consider animal traditions, including those in great apes, to be fundamentally different from human cultures, largely because of lack of evidence for cumulative processes and normative conformity, but perhaps also because current research on ape culture is usually restricted to behavioral comparisons. Here, we propose to analyze ape culture not only at the surface behavioral level but also at the underlying cognitive level. To this end, we integrate empirical findings in apes with theoretical frameworks developed in developmental psychology regarding the representation of tools and the development of metarepresentational abilities, to characterize the differences between ape and human cultures at the cognitive level. Current data are consistent with the notion of apes possessing mental representations of tools that can be accessed through re-representations: apes may reorganize their knowledge of tools in the form of categories or functional schemes. However, we find no evidence for metarepresentations of cultural knowledge: apes may not understand that they or others hold beliefs about their cultures. The resulting Jourdain Hypothesis, based on Molière’s character, argues that apes express their cultures without knowing that they are cultural beings because of cognitive limitations in their ability to represent knowledge, a determining feature of modern human cultures, allowing representing and modifying the current norms of the group. Differences in metarepresentational processes may thus explain fundamental differences between human and other animals’ cultures, notably limitations in cumulative behavior and normative conformity. Future empirical work should focus on how animals mentally represent their cultural knowledge to conclusively determine the ways by which humans are unique in their cultural behavior. PMID:25705199

[Effects on survival of shRNA mediated APE/Ref1 gene silencing in rat spiral ganglion cells in oxidative stress].

PubMed

Jiang, Zhendong; Zhong, Cheng; Li, Taijun; Xiang, Zhaolan; Zhang, Xueyuan

2014-02-01

To investigate the effects of reducing APE/Ref1 expression in the cultures of rat spiral ganglion cells with oxidative damage induced by H(2)O(2). Primary cultured rat spiral ganglion cells were infected with small interfering RNA to APE/Ref1 (Ape1siRNA) for 72 h, followed by treating with H(2)O(2) (0, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 300 µmol/L) for 1 h , and then cultured in normal medium for 24 h. Western blot were used to detect the level of APE/Ref1 protein and phosphorylation of histone protein H2AX in the infected cells. The caspase3 activation was tested by spectrophotometric method . The cell viability was determined by MTT and the apoptosis of spiral ganglion cells was determined by terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick and labeling (TUNEL). Western blot showed that infection with Ape1siRNA resulted in APE/Ref1 reduced expression in the spiral ganglion cells. Exposing spiral ganglion cultures with reduced expression of APE/Ref1 to H(2)O(2) (50, 100, 300 µmol/L) for 1 h resulted in increasing in the phosphorylation of histone protein H2AX. The reduction in APE/Ref1 significantly reduced cell viability in cultures 24 h after 1 h expression to 50-300 µmol/L H(2)O(2). The apoptosis of cells and caspase 3 activity was detected significantly improved. The induced of APE/Ref1 results in significantly decrease in spiral ganglion cells viability in oxidative stress. The repairing function of APE/Ref1 is necessary for optimal levels of neuronal rat spiral ganglion cells survival.

Comparative isotope ecology of African great apes.

PubMed

Oelze, Vicky M; Fahy, Geraldine; Hohmann, Gottfried; Robbins, Martha M; Leinert, Vera; Lee, Kevin; Eshuis, Henk; Seiler, Nicole; Wessling, Erin G; Head, Josephine; Boesch, Christophe; Kühl, Hjalmar S

2016-12-01

The isotope ecology of great apes is a useful reference for palaeodietary reconstructions in fossil hominins. As extant apes live in C 3 -dominated habitats, variation in isotope signatures is assumed to be low compared to hominoids exploiting C 4 -plant resources. However, isotopic differences between sites and between and within individuals are poorly understood due to the lack of vegetation baseline data. In this comparative study, we included all species of free-ranging African great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla sp.). First, we explore differences in isotope baselines across different habitats and whether isotopic signatures in apes can be related to feeding niches (faunivory and folivory). Secondly, we illustrate how stable isotopic variations within African ape populations compare to other extant and extinct primates and discuss possible implications for dietary flexibility. Using 701 carbon and nitrogen isotope data points resulting from 148 sectioned hair samples and an additional collection of 189 fruit samples, we compare six different great ape sites. We investigate the relationship between vegetation baselines and climatic variables, and subsequently correct great ape isotope data to a standardized plant baseline from the respective sites. We obtained temporal isotopic profiles of individual animals by sectioning hair along its growth trajectory. Isotopic signatures of great apes differed between sites, mainly as vegetation isotope baselines were correlated with site-specific climatic conditions. We show that controlling for plant isotopic characteristics at a given site is essential for faunal data interpretation. While accounting for plant baseline effects, we found distinct isotopic profiles for each great ape population. Based on evidence from habituated groups and sympatric great ape species, these differences could possibly be related to faunivory and folivory. Dietary flexibility in apes varied, but temporal variation was overall lower than in fossil hominins and extant baboons, shifting from C 3 to C 4 -resources, providing new perspectives on comparisons between extinct and extant primates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Specific Inhibition of the Redox Activity of Ape1/Ref-1 by E3330 Blocks Tnf-Α-Induced Activation of Il-8 Production in Liver Cancer Cell Lines

PubMed Central

Vascotto, Carlo; Leonardi, Antonio; Kelley, Mark R.; Tiribelli, Claudio; Tell, Gianluca

2013-01-01

APE1/Ref-1 is a main regulator of cellular response to oxidative stress via DNA-repair function and co-activating activity on the NF-κB transcription factor. APE1 is central in controlling the oxidative stress-based inflammatory processes through modulation of cytokines expression and its overexpression is responsible for the onset of chemoresistance in different tumors including hepatic cancer. We examined the functional role of APE1 overexpression during hepatic cell damage related to fatty acid accumulation and the role of the redox function of APE1 in the inflammatory process. HepG2 cells were stably transfected with functional and non-functional APE1 encoding plasmids and the protective effect of APE1 overexpression toward genotoxic compounds or FAs accumulation, was tested. JHH6 cells were stimulated with TNF-α in the presence or absence of E3330, an APE1 redox inhibitor. IL-8 promoter activity was assessed by a luciferase reporter assay, gene expression by Real-Time PCR and cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-12) levels measured by ELISA. APE1 over-expression did not prevent cytotoxicity induced by lipid accumulation. E3330 treatment prevented the functional activation of NF-κB via the alteration of APE1 subcellular trafficking and reduced IL-6 and IL-8 expression induced by TNF-α and FAs accumulation through blockage of the redox-mediated activation of NF-κB. APE1 overexpression observed in hepatic cancer cells may reflect an adaptive response to cell damage and may be responsible for further cell resistance to chemotherapy and for the onset of inflammatory response. The efficacy of the inhibition of APE1 redox activity in blocking TNF-α and FAs induced inflammatory response opens new perspectives for treatment of inflammatory-based liver diseases. PMID:23967134

Were Australopithecines Ape-Human Intermediates or Just Apes? A Test of Both Hypotheses Using the "Lucy" Skeleton

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Senter, Phil

2010-01-01

Mainstream scientists often claim that australopithecines such as the specimen nicknamed "Lucy" exhibit anatomy intermediate between that of apes and that of humans and use this as evidence that humans evolved from australopithecines, which evolved from apes. On the other hand, creationists reject evolution and claim that australopithecines are…

Implications of XRCC1, XPD and APE1 gene polymorphism in North Indian population: a comparative approach in different ethnic groups worldwide.

PubMed

Gangwar, Ruchika; Manchanda, Parmeet Kaur; Mittal, Rama Devi

2009-05-01

Identifying risk factors for human cancers should consider combinations of genetic variations and environmental exposures. Several polymorphisms in DNA repair genes have impact on repair and cancer susceptibility. We focused on X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1), Xeroderma pigmentosum D (XPD) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1) as these are most extensively studied in cancer. Present study was conducted to determine distribution of XRCC1 C26304T, G27466A, G23591A, APE1 T2197G and XPD A35931C gene polymorphisms in North Indian population and compare with different populations globally. PCR-based analysis was conducted in 209 normal healthy individuals of similar ethnicity. Allelic frequencies in wild type of XRCC1 C26304T were 91.1% C(Arg); G27466A 62.9% G(Arg); G23591A 60.3% G(Arg); APE1 T2197G 75.1% T(Asp) and XPD A35931C 71.8% A(Lys). The variant allele frequency were 8.9% T(Trp) in XRCC1 C26304T; 37.1% A(His) in G27466A; 39.7% A(Gln) in G23591A; 24.9% G(Glu) in APE1 and 28.2% C(Gln) in XPD respectively. We further compared frequency distribution for these genes with various published studies in different ethnicity. Our results suggest that frequency in these DNA repair genes exhibit distinctive pattern in India that could be attributed to ethnicity variation. This could assist in high-risk screening of humans exposed to environmental carcinogens and cancer predisposition in different ethnic groups.

Development and Validation of the Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drug Use Schedule

PubMed Central

Langenbucher, James W.; Lai, Justine Karmin; Loeb, Katharine L.; Hollander, Eric

2011-01-01

Appearance-and-performance enhancing drug (APED) use is a form of drug use that includes use of a wide range of substances such as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) and associated behaviors including intense exercise and dietary control. To date, there are no reliable or valid measures of the core features of APED use. The present study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of the Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drug Use Schedule (APEDUS) which is a semi-structured interview designed to assess the spectrum of drug use and related features of APED use. Eighty-five current APED using men and women (having used an illicit APED in the past year and planning to use an illicit APED in the future) completed the APEDUS and measures of convergent and divergent validity. Inter-rater agreement, scale reliability, one-week test-retest reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and construct validity were evaluated for each of the APEDUS scales. The APEDUS is a modular interview with 10 sections designed to assess the core drug and non-drug phenomena associated with APED use. All scales and individual items demonstrated high inter-rater agreement and reliability. Individual scales significantly correlated with convergent measures (DSM-IV diagnoses, aggression, impulsivity, eating disorder pathology) and were uncorrelated with a measure of social desirability. APEDUS subscale scores were also accurate measures of AAS dependence. The APEDUS is a reliable and valid measure of APED phenomena and an accurate measure of the core pathology associated with APED use. Issues with assessing APED use are considered and future research considered. PMID:21640487

The role of socio-communicative rearing environments in the development of social and physical cognition in apes.

PubMed

Russell, Jamie L; Lyn, Heidi; Schaeffer, Jennifer A; Hopkins, William D

2011-11-01

The cultural intelligence hypothesis (CIH) claims that humans' advanced cognition is a direct result of human culture and that children are uniquely specialized to absorb and utilize this cultural experience (Tomasello, 2000). Comparative data demonstrating that 2.5-year-old human children outperform apes on measures of social cognition but not on measures of physical cognition support this claim (Herrmann et al., 2007). However, the previous study failed to control for rearing when comparing these two species. Specifically, the human children were raised in a human culture whereas the apes were raised in standard sanctuary settings. To further explore the CIH, here we compared the performance on multiple measures of social and physical cognition in a group of standard reared apes raised in conditions typical of zoo and biomedical laboratory settings to that of apes reared in an enculturated socio-communicatively rich environment. Overall, the enculturated apes significantly outperformed their standard reared counterparts on the cognitive tasks and this was particularly true for measures of communication. Furthermore, the performance of the enculturated apes was very similar to previously reported data from 2.5-year-old children. We conclude that apes who are reared in a human-like socio-communicatively rich environment develop superior communicative abilities compared to apes reared in standard laboratory settings, which supports some assumptions of the cultural intelligence hypothesis. 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

RNA-cleaving properties of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1)

PubMed Central

Kim, Wan-Cheol; King, Dustin; Lee, Chow H.

2010-01-01

We have recently identified apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) as an endoribonuclease that cleaves c-myc mRNA in vitro and regulates c-myc mRNA levels and half-life in cells. This study was undertaken to further unravel the RNA-cleaving properties of APE1. Here, we show that APE1 cleaves RNA in the absence of divalent metal ions and, at 2 mM, Zn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, or Co2+ inhibited the endoribonuclease activity of APE1. APE1 is able to cleave CD44 mRNA, microRNAs (miR-21, miR-10b), and three RNA components of SARS-corona virus (orf1b, orf3, spike) suggesting that, when challenged, it can cleave any RNAs in vitro. APE1 does not cleave strong doublestranded regions of RNA and it has a strong preference for 3’ of pyrimidine, especially towards UA, CA, and UG sites at single-stranded or weakly paired regions. It also cleaves RNA weakly at UC, CU, AC, and AU sites in single-stranded or weakly paired regions. Finally, we found that APE1 can reduce the ability of the Dicer enzyme to process premiRNAs in vitro. Overall, this study has revealed some previously unknown biochemical properties of APE1 which has implications for its role in vivo. PMID:21968700

The Diagnostic Dilemma of Pathological Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drug Use

PubMed Central

Hildebrandt, Tom; Lai, Justine K.; Langenbucher, James W.; Schneider, Melanie; Yehuda, Rachel; Pfaff, Donald W.

2010-01-01

Appearance and performance enhancing drug (APED) use includes the use of a range of pharmacologically distinct substances and concurrent investment in outward appearance or achievement, dietary control, and frequent exercise. A number of existing reviews and conceptual papers have defined pathological forms of APED use within the APED class of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) and using the framework of AAS dependence. We review published data on APED use including human studies of AAS users and identified three defining phenomenological features associated with increased health risk and pathology. These features included (1) polypharmacy or the concurrent use of several pharmacologically distinct substances used to change outward appearance or increase likelihood of personal achievement; (2) significant body image disturbance; (3) rigid practices and preoccupations with diet and exercise. Investigations into the latent structure of APED use suggest these features cluster together in a homogenous group of APED users who have the highest health risk and most psychopathology. These features are discussed in the context of AAS dependence and problems with defining classic tolerance-withdrawal symptoms among APED users. Suggestions for a resolution and outline for future research needed to determine the best system for identifying and diagnosing pathological APED use are discussed. PMID:21115306

Study Design and Rationale of "A Multicenter, Open-Labeled, Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing MIdazolam Versus MOrphine in Acute Pulmonary Edema": MIMO Trial.

PubMed

Dominguez-Rodriguez, Alberto; Burillo-Putze, Guillermo; Garcia-Saiz, Maria Del Mar; Aldea-Perona, Ana; Harmand, Magali González-Colaço; Mirò, Oscar; Abreu-Gonzalez, Pedro

2017-04-01

Morphine has been used for several decades in cases of acute pulmonary edema (APE) due to the anxiolytic and vasodilatory properties of the drug. The non-specific depression of the central nervous system is probably the most significant factor for the changes in hemodynamics in APE. Retrospective studies have shown both negative and neutral effects in patients with APE and therefore some authors have suggested benzodiazepines as an alternative treatment. The use of intravenous morphine in the treatment of APE remains controversial. The MIdazolan versus MOrphine in APE trial (MIMO) is a multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of morphine in patients with APE. The MIMO trial will evaluate as a primary endpoint whether intravenous morphine administration improves clinical outcomes defined as in-hospital mortality. Secondary endpoint evaluation will be mechanical ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intensive care unit admission rate, intensive care unit length of stay, and hospitalization length. In the emergency department, morphine is still used for APE in spite of poor scientific background data. The data from the MIMO trial will establish the effect-and especially the risk-when using morphine for APE.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freudenthal, Bret D.; Beard, William A.; Cuneo, Matthew J.

DNA apurinic-apyrimidinic (AP) sites are prevalent noncoding threats to genomic stability and are processed by AP endonuclease 1 (APE1). APE1 incises the AP-site phosphodiester backbone, generating a DNA-repair intermediate that is potentially cytotoxic. The molecular events of the incision reaction remain elusive, owing in part to limited structural information. Here we report multiple high-resolution human APE1-DNA structures that divulge new features of the APE1 reaction, including the metal-binding site, the nucleophile and the arginine clamps that mediate product release. We also report APE1-DNA structures with a T-G mismatch 5' to the AP site, representing a clustered lesion occurring in methylatedmore » CpG dinucleotides. Moreover, these structures reveal that APE1 molds the T-G mismatch into a unique Watson-Crick-like geometry that distorts the active site, thus reducing incision. Finally, these snapshots provide mechanistic clarity for APE1 while affording a rational framework to manipulate biological responses to DNA damage.« less

Does confirmed pathogen transfer between sanctuary workers and great apes mean that reintroduction should not occur? Commentary on "Drug-resistant human Staphylococcus aureus findings in sanctuary apes and its threat to wild ape populations".

PubMed

Unwin, Steve; Robinson, Ian; Schmidt, Vanessa; Colin, Chris; Ford, Lisa; Humle, Tatyana

2012-12-01

This commentary discusses the findings and conclusions of the paper "Drug resistant human Staphylococcus aureus findings in sanctuary apes and its threat to wild ape populations." This paper confirms the zoonotic transfer of Staphylococcus aureus in a sanctuary setting. The assertion that this in itself is enough to reconsider the conservation potential of ape reintroduction provides an opportunity to discuss risk analysis of pathogen transmission, following IUCN guidelines, using S. aureus as an example. It is concluded that ape reintroduction projects must have disease risk mitigation strategies that include effective biosecurity protocols and pathogen surveillance. These strategies will assist with creating a well planned and executed reintroduction. This provides one way to enforce habitat protection, to minimise human encroachment and the risks from the illegal wildlife trade. Thus reintroduction must remain a useful tool in the conservation toolbox. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An Adaptive Prediction-Based Approach to Lossless Compression of Floating-Point Volume Data.

PubMed

Fout, N; Ma, Kwan-Liu

2012-12-01

In this work, we address the problem of lossless compression of scientific and medical floating-point volume data. We propose two prediction-based compression methods that share a common framework, which consists of a switched prediction scheme wherein the best predictor out of a preset group of linear predictors is selected. Such a scheme is able to adapt to different datasets as well as to varying statistics within the data. The first method, called APE (Adaptive Polynomial Encoder), uses a family of structured interpolating polynomials for prediction, while the second method, which we refer to as ACE (Adaptive Combined Encoder), combines predictors from previous work with the polynomial predictors to yield a more flexible, powerful encoder that is able to effectively decorrelate a wide range of data. In addition, in order to facilitate efficient visualization of compressed data, our scheme provides an option to partition floating-point values in such a way as to provide a progressive representation. We compare our two compressors to existing state-of-the-art lossless floating-point compressors for scientific data, with our data suite including both computer simulations and observational measurements. The results demonstrate that our polynomial predictor, APE, is comparable to previous approaches in terms of speed but achieves better compression rates on average. ACE, our combined predictor, while somewhat slower, is able to achieve the best compression rate on all datasets, with significantly better rates on most of the datasets.

Supervision of community health workers in Mozambique: a qualitative study of factors influencing motivation and programme implementation.

PubMed

Ndima, Sozinho Daniel; Sidat, Mohsin; Give, Celso; Ormel, Hermen; Kok, Maryse Catelijne; Taegtmeyer, Miriam

2015-09-01

Community health workers (CHWs) in Mozambique (known as Agentes Polivalentes Elementares (APEs)) are key actors in providing health services in rural communities. Supervision of CHWs has been shown to improve their work, although details of how it is implemented are scarce. In Mozambique, APE supervision structures and scope of work are clearly outlined in policy and rely on supervisors at the health facility of reference. The aim of this study was to understand how and which aspects of supervision impact on APE motivation and programme implementation. Qualitative research methodologies were used. Twenty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted to capture experiences and perceptions of purposefully selected participants. These included APEs, health facility supervisors, district APE supervisors and community leaders. Interviews were recorded, translated and transcribed, prior to the development of a thematic framework. Supervision was structured as dictated by policy but in practice was irregular and infrequent, which participants identified as affecting APE's motivation. When it did occur, supervision was felt to focus more on fault-finding than being supportive in nature and did not address all areas of APE's work - factors that APEs identified as demotivating. Supervisors, in turn, felt unsupported and felt this negatively impacted performance. They had a high workload in health facilities, where they had multiple roles, including provision of health services, taking care of administrative issues and supervising APEs in communities. A lack of resources for supervision activities was identified, and supervisors felt caught up in administrative issues around APE allowances that they were unable to solve. Many supervisors were not trained in providing supportive supervision. Community governance and accountability mechanisms were only partially able to fill the gaps left by the supervision provided by the health system. The findings indicate the need for an improved supervision system to enhance support and motivation and ultimately performance of APEs. Our study found disconnections between the APE programme policy and its implementation, with gaps in skills, training and support of supervisors leading to sub-optimal supervision. Improved methods of supervision could be implemented including those that maximize the opportunities during face-to-face meetings and through community-monitoring mechanisms.

Animal Metacognition: A Tale of Two Comparative Psychologies

PubMed Central

Smith, J. David; Couchman, Justin J.; Beran, Michael J.

2014-01-01

A growing literature considers whether animals have capacities that are akin to human metacognition (i. e., humans’ capacity to monitor their states of uncertainty and knowing). Comparative psychologists have approached this question by testing a dolphin, pigeons, rats, monkeys and apes using perception, memory and food-concealment paradigms. As part of this consideration, some associative modelers have attempted to describe animals’ “metacognitive” performances in low-level, associative terms—an important goal if achievable. The authors summarize the empirical and theoretical situation regarding these associative descriptions. The associative descriptions in the animal-metacognition literature fail to encompass important phenomena. The sharp focus on abstract, mathematical associative models creates serious interpretative problems. The authors compare these failed associative descriptions to an alternative theoretical approach within contemporary comparative psychology. The alternative approach has the potential to strengthen comparative psychology as an empirical science and integrate it more fully within the mainstream of experimental psychology and cognitive science. PMID:23957740

Paleoenvironmental basis of cognitive evolution in great apes.

PubMed

Potts, Richard

2004-03-01

A bias favoring tree-dominated habitats and ripe-fruit frugivory has persisted in great ape evolution since the early Miocene. This bias is indicated by fossil ape paleoenvironments, molar morphology, dental microwear, the geographic pattern of extinctions, and extant apes' reliance on wooded settings. The ephemeral aspect of high-quality fruit has placed a premium on cognitive and social means of finding and defending food sources, and appears related to great apes' affinity since the Miocene for wooded, fruit-rich environments. These habitats have, however, undergone a severe withdrawal toward the low latitudes of Africa and Southeast Asia since the late Miocene, corresponding to a decline in the diversity of great apes beginning 9.5 million years ago. Plio-Pleistocene records imply that wooded settings of Africa and SE Asia were prone to substantial fragmentation and coalescence. Once apes were confined to equatorial settings, therefore, habitat instability heightened the spatial/temporal uncertainty of ripe-fruit sources. Prolonged learning, the assignment of attributes to distant places, mental representation, and reliance on fallback foods were all favored in this dynamic environmental context. These abilities helped sustain forest frugivory in most lineages. Fluid social grouping afforded the animals opportunities to locate ephemeral foods in continuous and fragmented forests. Fission-fusion grouping also magnified the problems of object impermanence (of individuals) and dispersion manifested by food sources in the ecological realm. Thus the spatial and temporal dynamics of fruit and wooded habitats since the Miocene are reflected in important components of great ape cognition, foraging, and sociality. In contrast to great apes, cercopithecoid monkeys have increased their plant dietary options and diversified in seasonal environments since the late Miocene. Early hominins eventually severed the habitat bias that characterized the evolution of great apes, and later expanded into diverse environments. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effect of Andrographis paniculata Extract on Triglyceride Levels of the Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Phunikhom, Kutcharin; Khampitak, Kovit; Aromdee, Chantana; Arkaravichien, Tarinee; Sattayasai, Jintana

2015-07-01

Hypertriglyceridemia is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and reduction oftriglyceride (TG) level is recommended in clinical practice guidelines for the treatment. Recently, andrographolide, a main active compound of Andrographispaniculata has been shown to possess hypolipidemic effects in animals. To investigate the TG-lowering effects of A. paniculata extract (APE) in patients with hypertriglyceridemia (TG ≥ 150 mg/dL) using gemfibrozil treatment as the reference. A randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out in sixty subjects with hypertriglyceridemia. They were divided into three groups and treated with low dose of APE (APE-L, andrographolide 71.64-72.36 mg/day), high dose of APE (APE-H, andrographolide 119.64-120.36 mg/day), and gemfibrozil 300 mg/day. The treatments were conducted for 8 weeks. Guidance on lifestyle modifications was provided. The primary endpoint was the mean difference ± SD (95% CI) in TG levels (baseline from the end of treatment), which were -3 ± 125.6 (-59.1, 58.5), 41.6 ± 86.3 (1.2, 82), and 57.1 ± 94.9 (12.7, 101.6) in the APE-L, APE-H, and gemfibrozil groups, respectively. APE-H 120 mg/day and gemfibrozil 300 mg/day caused a significant reduction of TG level (P = 0.0442 and 0.0145, respectively) when compared to the baseline. There was no notable difference in the safety or tolerability among the treatment groups. In patients with modest hypertriglyceridemia with lifestyle intervention, APE-H reduced the TG level comparable to the effect of gemfibrozil 300 mg/day. APE treatment was as tolerable as gemfibrozil treatment. Hence, Andrographis paniculata might be used as an alternative medicine in treating hypertriglyceridemic patients.

Artemisia leaf extract induces apoptosis in human endometriotic cells through regulation of the p38 and NFκB pathways.

PubMed

Kim, Ji-Hyun; Jung, Seung-Hyun; Yang, Yeong-In; Ahn, Ji-Hye; Cho, Jin-Gyeong; Lee, Kyung-Tae; Baek, Nam-In; Choi, Jung-Hye

2013-02-13

Artemisia leaves have long been used for the treatment of gynecological disorders, including infertility and dysmenorrhea, which can be commonly caused by endometriosis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Artemisia princeps extract (APE) on the cell growth and apoptosis of human endometriotic cells. MTT assays and FACS analysis using PI and Annexin staining were performed to study cell viability, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. We also explored the mechanism of APE-induced effects by evaluating the activation of caspases, Akt, p38, and NFκB. The expressions of XIAP, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL were measured by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. APE significantly inhibited the cell viability of 11Z and 12Z human endometriotic epithelial cells. Interestingly, endometriotic cells were more sensitive to APE treatment than immortalized endometrial cells (HES). Treatment with APE induced apoptosis of 11Z cells in a time-dependent manner, as shown by accumulation of sub G1 and apoptotic cell populations. In addition, treatment with APE stimulated the activation of caspase -3, -8, and -9 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, p38 was activated by APE treatment, and the p38 inhibitor SB203580 markedly inhibited APE-induced cell death in 11Z cells. Moreover, treatment with APE suppressed the activation of NFκB and the expressions of anti-apoptotic factors such as XIAP, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL. These results indicate that APE is a potential anti-endometriotic agent, acting to induce apoptosis of endometrial cells through the modulation of the p38 and NFκB pathways. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

APE/Ref-1 is increased in nuclear fractions of human thyroid hyperfunctioning nodules.

PubMed

Russo, D; Celano, M; Bulotta, S; Bruno, R; Arturi, F; Giannasio, P; Filetti, S; Damante, G; Tell, G

2002-08-30

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE/Ref-1 is a multifunctional protein provided with DNA repair, transcription-factor regulation and anti-apoptotic activities. We have previously reported that, in thyroid cells, TSH regulates both the synthesis and nuclear translocation of APE/Ref-1. We have also shown that nuclear levels of this protein are reduced both in thyroid carcinoma tissues and cell lines. In the present study, APE/Ref-1 expression and cellular localization were analysed by Western blot in hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules from patients with toxic adenoma and/or toxic multinodular goiter. The total content of APE/Ref-1 protein was increased in the majority of the hyperfunctioning tissues with respect to normal adjacent tissue. There was also an increase in the nuclear levels of APE/Ref-1, suggesting enhanced cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation of the protein in addition to its increased rate of synthesis. These results demonstrate that the phenomenon of nuclear translocation of APE/Ref-1 hypothesized on the basis of cell culture experiments does actually occur in vivo. Together with previous observations in thyroid carcinomas and tumoral cell lines, our findings suggest a two-stage model of APE/Ref-1 behaviour during malignant thyrocyte transformation: an early stage characterized by simple hyperplasia and upregulation of APE/Ref-1 in the nuclear compartment of the cell and a later stage in which nuclear levels of the protein drop to below-normal levels as the cell becomes progressively undifferentiated.

Targeting human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) in phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) deficient melanoma cells for personalized therapy.

PubMed

Abbotts, Rachel; Jewell, Rosalyn; Nsengimana, Jérémie; Maloney, David J; Simeonov, Anton; Seedhouse, Claire; Elliott, Faye; Laye, Jon; Walker, Christy; Jadhav, Ajit; Grabowska, Anna; Ball, Graham; Patel, Poulam M; Newton-Bishop, Julia; Wilson, David M; Madhusudan, Srinivasan

2014-05-30

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) loss is associated with genomic instability. APE1 is a key player in DNA base excision repair (BER) and an emerging drug target in cancer. We have developed small molecule inhibitors against APE1 repair nuclease activity. In the current study we explored a synthetic lethal relationship between PTEN and APE1 in melanoma. Clinicopathological significance of PTEN mRNA and APE1 mRNA expression was investigated in 191 human melanomas. Preclinically, PTEN-deficient BRAF-mutated (UACC62, HT144, and SKMel28), PTEN-proficient BRAF-wildtype (MeWo), and doxycycline-inducible PTEN-knockout BRAF-wildtype MeWo melanoma cells were DNA repair expression profiled and investigated for synthetic lethality using a panel of four prototypical APE1 inhibitors. In human tumours, low PTEN mRNA and high APE1 mRNA was significantly associated with reduced relapse free and overall survival. Pre-clinically, compared to PTEN-proficient cells, PTEN-deficient cells displayed impaired expression of genes involved in DNA double strand break (DSB) repair. Synthetic lethality in PTEN-deficient cells was evidenced by increased sensitivity, accumulation of DSBs and induction of apoptosis following treatment with APE1 inhibitors. We conclude that PTEN deficiency is not only a promising biomarker in melanoma, but can also be targeted by a synthetic lethality strategy using inhibitors of BER, such as those targeting APE1.

Isolation of a small molecule inhibitor of DNA base excision repair

PubMed Central

Madhusudan, Srinivasan; Smart, Fiona; Shrimpton, Paul; Parsons, Jason L.; Gardiner, Laurence; Houlbrook, Sue; Talbot, Denis C.; Hammonds, Timothy; Freemont, Paul A.; Sternberg, Michael J. E.; Dianov, Grigory L.; Hickson, Ian D.

2005-01-01

The base excision repair (BER) pathway is essential for the removal of DNA bases damaged by alkylation or oxidation. A key step in BER is the processing of an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site intermediate by an AP endonuclease. The major AP endonuclease in human cells (APE1, also termed HAP1 and Ref-1) accounts for >95% of the total AP endonuclease activity, and is essential for the protection of cells against the toxic effects of several classes of DNA damaging agents. Moreover, APE1 overexpression has been linked to radio- and chemo-resistance in human tumors. Using a newly developed high-throughput screen, several chemical inhibitors of APE1 have been isolated. Amongst these, CRT0044876 was identified as a potent and selective APE1 inhibitor. CRT0044876 inhibits the AP endonuclease, 3′-phosphodiesterase and 3′-phosphatase activities of APE1 at low micromolar concentrations, and is a specific inhibitor of the exonuclease III family of enzymes to which APE1 belongs. At non-cytotoxic concentrations, CRT0044876 potentiates the cytotoxicity of several DNA base-targeting compounds. This enhancement of cytotoxicity is associated with an accumulation of unrepaired AP sites. In silico modeling studies suggest that CRT0044876 binds to the active site of APE1. These studies provide both a novel reagent for probing APE1 function in human cells, and a rational basis for the development of APE1-targeting drugs for antitumor therapy. PMID:16113242

The Role of Socio-Communicative Rearing Environments on the Development of Social and Physical Cognition in Apes

PubMed Central

Russell, J. L.; Lyn, H.; Schaeffer, J. A.; Hopkins, W. D.

2011-01-01

The cultural intelligence hypothesis (CIH) claims that humans' advanced cognition is a direct result of human culture and that children are uniquely specialized to absorb and utilize this cultural experience (Tomasello, 2000). Comparative data demonstrating that 2.5 year old human children outperform apes on measures of social cognition but not on measures of physical cognition support this claim (E. Herrmann, J. Call, M. V. Hernandez-Lloreda, B. Hare, & M. Tomasello, 2007). However, the previous study failed to control for rearing when comparing these two species. Specifically, the human children were raised in a human culture whereas the apes were raised in standard sanctuary settings. To further explore the CIH, here we compared the performance on multiple measures of social and physical cognition in a group of standard reared apes raised in conditions typical of zoo and biomedical laboratory settings to that of apes reared in an enculturated socio-communicatively rich environment. Overall, the enculturated apes significantly outperformed their standard reared counterparts on the cognitive tasks and this was particularly true for measures of communication. Furthermore, the performance of the enculturated apes was very similar to previously reported data from 2.5 year old children. We conclude that apes who are reared in a human-like socio-communicatively rich environment develop superior communicative abilities compared to apes reared in standard laboratory settings, which supports some assumptions of the cultural intelligence hypothesis. PMID:22010903

Diverse small molecule inhibitors of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE1 identified from a screen of a large public collection.

PubMed

Dorjsuren, Dorjbal; Kim, Daemyung; Vyjayanti, Vaddadi N; Maloney, David J; Jadhav, Ajit; Wilson, David M; Simeonov, Anton

2012-01-01

The major human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE1 plays a pivotal role in the repair of base damage via participation in the DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway. Increased activity of APE1, often observed in tumor cells, is thought to contribute to resistance to various anticancer drugs, whereas down-regulation of APE1 sensitizes cells to DNA damaging agents. Thus, inhibiting APE1 repair endonuclease function in cancer cells is considered a promising strategy to overcome therapeutic agent resistance. Despite ongoing efforts, inhibitors of APE1 with adequate drug-like properties have yet to be discovered. Using a kinetic fluorescence assay, we conducted a fully-automated high-throughput screen (HTS) of the NIH Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (MLSMR), as well as additional public collections, with each compound tested as a 7-concentration series in a 4 µL reaction volume. Actives identified from the screen were subjected to a panel of confirmatory and counterscreen tests. Several active molecules were identified that inhibited APE1 in two independent assay formats and exhibited potentiation of the genotoxic effect of methyl methanesulfonate with a concomitant increase in AP sites, a hallmark of intracellular APE1 inhibition; a number of these chemotypes could be good starting points for further medicinal chemistry optimization. To our knowledge, this represents the largest-scale HTS to identify inhibitors of APE1, and provides a key first step in the development of novel agents targeting BER for cancer treatment.

SU-F-T-114: A Novel Anatomically Predictive Extension Model of Computational Human Phantoms for Dose Reconstruction in Retrospective Epidemiological Studies of Second Cancer Risks in Radiotherapy Patients

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuzmin, G; Lee, C; Lee, C

Purpose: Recent advances in cancer treatments have greatly increased the likelihood of post-treatment patient survival. Secondary malignancies, however, have become a growing concern. Epidemiological studies determining secondary effects in radiotherapy patients require assessment of organ-specific dose both inside and outside the treatment field. An essential input for Monte Carlo modeling of particle transport is radiological images showing full patient anatomy. However, in retrospective studies it is typical to only have partial anatomy from CT scans used during treatment planning. In this study, we developed a multi-step method to extend such limited patient anatomy to full body anatomy for estimating dosemore » to normal tissues located outside the CT scan coverage. Methods: The first step identified a phantom from a library of body size-dependent computational human phantoms by matching the height and weight of patients. Second, a Python algorithm matched the patient CT coverage location in relation to the whole body phantom. Third, an algorithm cut the whole body phantom and scaled them to match the size of the patient. Then, merged the two anatomies into one whole body. We entitled this new approach, Anatomically Predictive Extension (APE). Results: The APE method was examined by comparing the original chest-abdomen-pelvis CT images of the five patients with the APE phantoms developed from only the chest part of the CAP images and whole body phantoms. We achieved average percent differences of tissue volumes of 25.7%, 34.2%, 16.5%, 26.8%, and 31.6% with an average of 27% across all patients. Conclusion: Our APE method extends the limited CT patient anatomy to whole body anatomy by using image processing and computational human phantoms. Our ongoing work includes evaluating the accuracy of these APE phantoms by comparing normal tissue doses in the APE phantoms and doses calculated for the original full CAP images under generic radiotherapy simulations. This research was supported by the NIH Intramural Research Program.« less

Lys98 Substitution in Human AP Endonuclease 1 Affects the Kinetic Mechanism of Enzyme Action in Base Excision and Nucleotide Incision Repair Pathways

PubMed Central

Timofeyeva, Nadezhda A.; Koval, Vladimir V.; Ishchenko, Alexander A.; Saparbaev, Murat K.; Fedorova, Olga S.

2011-01-01

Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is a key enzyme in the base excision repair (BER) and nucleotide incision repair (NIR) pathways. We recently analyzed the conformational dynamics and kinetic mechanism of wild-type (wt) protein, in a stopped-flow fluorescence study. In this study, we investigated the mutant enzyme APE1K98A using the same approach. Lys98 was known to hydrogen bond to the carboxyl group of Asp70, a residue implicated in binding the divalent metal ion. Our data suggested that the conformational selection and induced fit occur during the enzyme action. We expanded upon the evidence that APE1 can pre-exist in two conformations. The isomerization of an enzyme-product complex in the BER process and the additional isomerization stage of enzyme-substrate complex in the NIR process were established for APE1K98A. These stages had not been registered for the wtAPE1. We found that the K98A substitution resulted in a 12-fold reduction of catalytic constant of 5′-phosphodiester bond hydrolysis in (3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)methyl phosphate (F, tetrahydrofuran) containing substrate, and in 200-fold reduction in 5,6-dihydrouridine (DHU) containing substrate. Thus, the K98A substitution influenced NIR more than BER. We demonstrated that the K98A mutation influenced the formation of primary unspecific enzyme-substrate complex in a complicated manner, depending on the Mg2+ concentration and pH. This mutation obstructed the induced fit of enzyme in the complex with undamaged DNA and F-containing DNA and appreciably decreased the stability of primary complex upon interaction of enzyme with DNA, containing the natural apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site. Furthermore, it significantly delayed the activation of the less active form of enzyme during NIR and slowed down the conformational conversion of the complex of enzyme with the cleavage product of DHU-substrate. Our data revealed that APE1 uses the same active site to catalyze the cleavage of DHU- and AP-substrates. PMID:21912662

The Whole-Hand Point: The Structure and Function of Pointing From a Comparative Perspective

PubMed Central

Leavens, David A.; Hopkins, William D.

2007-01-01

Pointing by monkeys, apes, and human infants is reviewed and compared. Pointing with the index finger is a species-typical human gesture, although human infants exhibit more whole-hand pointing than is commonly appreciated. Captive monkeys and feral apes have been reported to only rarely “spontaneously” point, although apes in captivity frequently acquire pointing, both with the index finger and with the whole hand, without explicit training. Captive apes exhibit relatively more gaze alternation while pointing than do human infants about 1 year old. Human infants are relatively more vocal while pointing than are captive apes, consistent with paralinguistic use of pointing. PMID:10608565

Generation times in wild chimpanzees and gorillas suggest earlier divergence times in great ape and human evolution

PubMed Central

Langergraber, Kevin E.; Prüfer, Kay; Rowney, Carolyn; Boesch, Christophe; Crockford, Catherine; Fawcett, Katie; Inoue, Eiji; Inoue-Muruyama, Miho; Mitani, John C.; Muller, Martin N.; Robbins, Martha M.; Schubert, Grit; Stoinski, Tara S.; Viola, Bence; Watts, David; Wittig, Roman M.; Wrangham, Richard W.; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Pääbo, Svante; Vigilant, Linda

2012-01-01

Fossils and molecular data are two independent sources of information that should in principle provide consistent inferences of when evolutionary lineages diverged. Here we use an alternative approach to genetic inference of species split times in recent human and ape evolution that is independent of the fossil record. We first use genetic parentage information on a large number of wild chimpanzees and mountain gorillas to directly infer their average generation times. We then compare these generation time estimates with those of humans and apply recent estimates of the human mutation rate per generation to derive estimates of split times of great apes and humans that are independent of fossil calibration. We date the human–chimpanzee split to at least 7–8 million years and the population split between Neanderthals and modern humans to 400,000–800,000 y ago. This suggests that molecular divergence dates may not be in conflict with the attribution of 6- to 7-million-y-old fossils to the human lineage and 400,000-y-old fossils to the Neanderthal lineage. PMID:22891323

Drug-resistant human Staphylococcus aureus in sanctuary apes pose a threat to endangered wild ape populations.

PubMed

Schaumburg, Frieder; Mugisha, Lawrence; Peck, Bruce; Becker, Karsten; Gillespie, Thomas R; Peters, Georg; Leendertz, Fabian H

2012-12-01

Reintroduction of sanctuary apes to natural habitat is considered an important tool for conservation; however, reintroduction has the potential to endanger resident wild apes through the introduction of human pathogens. We found a high prevalence of drug-resistant, human-associated lineages of Staphylococcus aureus in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from Zambia and Uganda. This pathogen is associated with skin and soft tissue diseases and severe invasive infections (i.e. pneumonia and septicemia). Colonization by this bacterium is difficult to clear due to frequent recolonization. In addition to its pathogenic potential, human-related S. aureus can serve as an indicator organism for the transmission of other potential pathogens like pneumococci or mycobacteria. Plans to reintroduce sanctuary apes should be reevaluated in light of the high risk of introducing human-adapted S. aureus into wild ape populations where treatment is impossible. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Does early care affect joint attention in great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Pongo abelii, Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla)?

PubMed

Pitman, Caisie A; Shumaker, Robert W

2009-08-01

The ability to share attention with another is the foundation on which other theory of mind skills are formed. The quality of care received during infancy has been correlated with increased joint attention in humans. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of care style (responsive or basic) and caregiver type (ape or human) during the first 6 months on joint attention in 4 great ape species (Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo spp., and Pan pansicus). Great apes engaged in joint attention with conspecifics and humans regardless of the style of early care they experienced from either a great ape mother or human caregiver. This finding suggests that joint attention is a robust ability in great apes that is resilient against at least some differences in early care. Future studies using additional measures of early care quality are recommended. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

What's Special about Human Imitation? A Comparison with Enculturated Apes.

PubMed

Subiaul, Francys

2016-07-07

What, if anything, is special about human imitation? An evaluation of enculturated apes' imitation skills, a "best case scenario" of non-human apes' imitation performance, reveals important similarities and differences between this special population of apes and human children. Candidates for shared imitation mechanisms include the ability to imitate various familiar transitive responses and object-object actions that involve familiar tools. Candidates for uniquely derived imitation mechanisms include: imitating novel transitive actions and novel tool-using responses as well as imitating opaque or intransitive gestures, regardless of familiarity. While the evidence demonstrates that enculturated apes outperform non-enculturated apes and perform more like human children, all apes, regardless of rearing history, generally excel at imitating familiar, over-rehearsed responses and are poor, relative to human children, at imitating novel, opaque or intransitive responses. Given the similarities between the sensory and motor systems of preschool age human children and non-human apes, it is unlikely that differences in sensory input and/or motor-output alone explain the observed discontinuities in imitation performance. The special rearing history of enculturated apes-including imitation-specific training-further diminishes arguments suggesting that differences are experience-dependent. Here, it is argued that such differences are best explained by distinct, specialized mechanisms that have evolved for copying rules and responses in particular content domains. Uniquely derived social and imitation learning mechanisms may represent adaptations for learning novel communicative gestures and complex tool-use. Given our species' dependence on both language and tools, mechanisms that accelerated learning in these domains are likely to have faced intense selective pressures, starting with the earliest of human ancestors.

Rural-urban difference in the use of annual physical examination among seniors in Shandong, China: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Ge, Dandan; Chu, Jie; Zhou, Chengchao; Qian, Yangyang; Zhang, Li; Sun, Long

2017-05-23

Regular physical examination contributes to early detection and timely treatment, which is helpful in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing diseases. The objective of this study is to compare the annual physical examination (APE) use between rural and urban elderly in China. A total of 3,922 participants (60+) were randomly selected from three urban districts and three rural counties in Shandong Province, China, and were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. We performed unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models to examine the difference in the utilization of APE between rural and urban elderly. Two adjusted logistic regression models were employed to identify the factors associated with APE use in rural and urban seniors respectively. The utilization rates of APE in rural and urban elderly are 37.4% and 76.2% respectively. Factors including education level, exercise, watching TV, and number of non-communicable chronic conditions, are associated with APE use both in rural and urban elderly. Hospitalization, self-reported economic status, and health insurance are found to be significant (p < 0.05) predictors for APE use in rural elderly. Elderly covered by Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) (p < 0.05, OR = 1.874) are more likely to use APE in urban areas. There is a big difference in APE utilization between rural and urban elderly. Interventions targeting identified at-risk subgroups, especially for those rural elderly, are essential to reduce such a gap. To improve health literacy might be helpful to increase the utilization rate of APE among the elderly.

APE2 Zf-GRF facilitates 3'-5' resection of DNA damage following oxidative stress

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wallace, Bret D.; Berman, Zachary; Mueller, Geoffrey A.

The Xenopus laevis APE2 (apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 2) nuclease participates in 3'-5' nucleolytic resection of oxidative DNA damage and activation of the ATR-Chk1 DNA damage response (DDR) pathway via ill-defined mechanisms. Here we report that APE2 resection activity is regulated by DNA interactions in its Zf-GRF domain, a region sharing high homology with DDR proteins Topoisomerase 3α (TOP3α) and NEIL3 (Nei-like DNA glycosylase 3), as well as transcription and RNA regulatory proteins, such as TTF2 (transcription termination factor 2), TFIIS, and RPB9. Biochemical and NMR results establish the nucleic acid-binding activity of the Zf-GRF domain. Moreover, an APE2 Zf-GRF X-ray structuremore » and small-angle X-ray scattering analyses show that the Zf-GRF fold is typified by a crescent-shaped ssDNA binding claw that is flexibly appended to an APE2 endonuclease/exonuclease/phosphatase (EEP) catalytic core. Structure-guided Zf-GRF mutations impact APE2 DNA binding and 3'-5' exonuclease processing, and also prevent efficient APE2-dependent RPA recruitment to damaged chromatin and activation of the ATR-Chk1 DDR pathway in response to oxidative stress in Xenopus egg extracts. Collectively, our data unveil the APE2 Zf-GRF domain as a nucleic acid interaction module in the regulation of a key single-strand break resection function of APE2, and also reveal topologic similarity of the Zf-GRF to the zinc ribbon domains of TFIIS and RPB9.« less

Psychosocial correlates of gap time to anabolic-androgenic steroid use.

PubMed

Klimek, Patrycja; Hildebrandt, Tom

2018-03-15

Theoretically, legal supplement use precedes and increases the risk for illicit appearance and performance enhancing drug (APED) use-also referred to as the gateway hypothesis. Little is known about associations between the speed of progression, or gap time, from legal to illicit APED use, and psychological risk factors, such as sociocultural influence, eating disorders, body image disturbance, and impulsivity. The sample taken from two studies included 172 active steroid users (n = 143) and intense-exercising healthy controls (n = 29) between the ages of 18 and 60 (M = 34.16, SD = 10.43), the majority of whom were male (91.9%). Participants, retrospectively, reported APED use and completed measures assessing psychological and behavioral factors, including eating concern, muscle dysmorphia, and impulsivity. Participants had a gap time from initial APED use to anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use that ranged from 0 to 38 years. Continuous survival analysis indicated that interactions between self- versus other sociocultural influence on APED onset and both higher eating concern and impulsivity are associated with a shorter gap time from initial legal to illicit APED use. The results indicate the potential value in developing different strategies for individuals with other sociocultural versus self-influence on illicit APED use, and among more impulsive and eating-concerned APED users. Future research is needed to assess different trajectories of APED use, such that eating-concerned and impulsive individuals who perceive less other sociocultural influence may be at greatest risk for a speedier progression to AAS use. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Diverse Small Molecule Inhibitors of Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease APE1 Identified from a Screen of a Large Public Collection

PubMed Central

Dorjsuren, Dorjbal; Kim, Daemyung; Vyjayanti, Vaddadi N.; Maloney, David J.; Jadhav, Ajit; Wilson, David M.; Simeonov, Anton

2012-01-01

The major human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE1 plays a pivotal role in the repair of base damage via participation in the DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway. Increased activity of APE1, often observed in tumor cells, is thought to contribute to resistance to various anticancer drugs, whereas down-regulation of APE1 sensitizes cells to DNA damaging agents. Thus, inhibiting APE1 repair endonuclease function in cancer cells is considered a promising strategy to overcome therapeutic agent resistance. Despite ongoing efforts, inhibitors of APE1 with adequate drug-like properties have yet to be discovered. Using a kinetic fluorescence assay, we conducted a fully-automated high-throughput screen (HTS) of the NIH Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository (MLSMR), as well as additional public collections, with each compound tested as a 7-concentration series in a 4 µL reaction volume. Actives identified from the screen were subjected to a panel of confirmatory and counterscreen tests. Several active molecules were identified that inhibited APE1 in two independent assay formats and exhibited potentiation of the genotoxic effect of methyl methanesulfonate with a concomitant increase in AP sites, a hallmark of intracellular APE1 inhibition; a number of these chemotypes could be good starting points for further medicinal chemistry optimization. To our knowledge, this represents the largest-scale HTS to identify inhibitors of APE1, and provides a key first step in the development of novel agents targeting BER for cancer treatment. PMID:23110144

Evolution of Humans: Understanding the Nature and Methods of Science through Cooperative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Yeung Chung

2011-01-01

This article describes the use of an enquiry-based approach to the study of human evolution in a practical context, integrating role-playing, jigsaw cooperative learning and scientific argumentation. The activity seeks to unravel the evolutionary relationships of five hominids and one ape from rather "messy" evidence. This approach enhanced the…

Great Apes and Biodiversity Offset Projects in Africa: The Case for National Offset Strategies

PubMed Central

Kormos, Rebecca; Kormos, Cyril F.; Humle, Tatyana; Lanjouw, Annette; Rainer, Helga; Victurine, Ray; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Diallo, Mamadou S.; Rylands, Anthony B.; Williamson, Elizabeth A.

2014-01-01

The development and private sectors are increasingly considering “biodiversity offsets” as a strategy to compensate for their negative impacts on biodiversity, including impacts on great apes and their habitats in Africa. In the absence of national offset policies in sub-Saharan Africa, offset design and implementation are guided by company internal standards, lending bank standards or international best practice principles. We examine four projects in Africa that are seeking to compensate for their negative impacts on great ape populations. Our assessment of these projects reveals that not all apply or implement best practices, and that there is little standardization in the methods used to measure losses and gains in species numbers. Even if they were to follow currently accepted best-practice principles, we find that these actions may still fail to contribute to conservation objectives over the long term. We advocate for an alternative approach in which biodiversity offset and compensation projects are designed and implemented as part of a National Offset Strategy that (1) takes into account the cumulative impacts of development in individual countries, (2) identifies priority offset sites, (3) promotes aggregated offsets, and (4) integrates biodiversity offset and compensation projects with national biodiversity conservation objectives. We also propose supplementary principles necessary for biodiversity offsets to contribute to great ape conservation in Africa. Caution should still be exercised, however, with regard to offsets until further field-based evidence of their effectiveness is available. PMID:25372894

Great apes and biodiversity offset projects in Africa: the case for national offset strategies.

PubMed

Kormos, Rebecca; Kormos, Cyril F; Humle, Tatyana; Lanjouw, Annette; Rainer, Helga; Victurine, Ray; Mittermeier, Russell A; Diallo, Mamadou S; Rylands, Anthony B; Williamson, Elizabeth A

2014-01-01

The development and private sectors are increasingly considering "biodiversity offsets" as a strategy to compensate for their negative impacts on biodiversity, including impacts on great apes and their habitats in Africa. In the absence of national offset policies in sub-Saharan Africa, offset design and implementation are guided by company internal standards, lending bank standards or international best practice principles. We examine four projects in Africa that are seeking to compensate for their negative impacts on great ape populations. Our assessment of these projects reveals that not all apply or implement best practices, and that there is little standardization in the methods used to measure losses and gains in species numbers. Even if they were to follow currently accepted best-practice principles, we find that these actions may still fail to contribute to conservation objectives over the long term. We advocate for an alternative approach in which biodiversity offset and compensation projects are designed and implemented as part of a National Offset Strategy that (1) takes into account the cumulative impacts of development in individual countries, (2) identifies priority offset sites, (3) promotes aggregated offsets, and (4) integrates biodiversity offset and compensation projects with national biodiversity conservation objectives. We also propose supplementary principles necessary for biodiversity offsets to contribute to great ape conservation in Africa. Caution should still be exercised, however, with regard to offsets until further field-based evidence of their effectiveness is available.

Low abdominoperineal excision rates are associated with high-workload surgeons and lower tumour height. Is further specialization needed?

PubMed

Morris, E J A; Birch, R; West, N P; Finan, P J; Forman, D; Fairley, L; Quirke, P

2011-07-01

Wide variation, independent of disease extent and case mix, has been observed in the rate of use of abdominoperineal excision (APE) for rectal cancer. Previous analyses have, however, been confounded by failure to adjust for the location of the tumour within the rectum. This population-based study sought to examine whether variations in tumour height explained differences in APE use. Information was obtained on all individuals who underwent a major resection for a rectal tumour diagnosed between 1998 and 2005 across the Northern and Yorkshire regions of the UK. Median distances from the dentate line were calculated for all tumours excised by APE and compared with rates of use of APE between specialists and nonspecialist surgeons and across hospital trusts. The completeness of pathological reporting of height of tumour within the rectum was variable. A low rate of APE use was associated with a lower median distance of tumours from the dentate line. Specialist colorectal cancer surgeons performed fewer APEs on patients with a tumour located lower in the rectum than nonspecialist surgeons. Variations in the height of tumour did not explain the variation in APE use. Specialist high-volume surgeons undertook fewer APEs and those they performed were closer to the dentate line than low-volume nonspecialist surgeons. © 2011 The Authors. Colorectal Disease © 2011 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.

Inhibition of Ape1 Redox Activity Promotes Odonto/osteogenic Differentiation of Dental Papilla Cells.

PubMed

Chen, Tian; Liu, Zhi; Sun, Wenhua; Li, Jingyu; Liang, Yan; Yang, Xianrui; Xu, Yang; Yu, Mei; Tian, Weidong; Chen, Guoqing; Bai, Ding

2015-12-07

Dentinogenesis is the formation of dentin, a substance that forms the majority of teeth, and this process is performed by odontoblasts. Dental papilla cells (DPCs), as the progenitor cells of odontoblasts, undergo the odontogenic differentiation regulated by multiple cytokines and paracrine signal molecules. Ape1 is a perfect paradigm of the function complexity of a biological macromolecule with two major functional regions for DNA repair and redox regulation, respectively. To date, it remains unclear whether Ape1 can regulate the dentinogenesis in DPCs. In the present study, we firstly examed the spatio-temporal expression of Ape1 during tooth germ developmental process, and found the Ape1 expression was initially high and then gradually reduced along with the tooth development. Secondly, the osteo/odontogenic differentiation capacity of DPCs was up-regulated when treated with either Ape1-shRNA or E3330 (a specific inhibitor of the Ape1 redox function), respectively. Moreover, we found that the canonical Wnt signaling pathway was activated in this process, and E3330 reinforced-osteo/odontogenic differentiation capacity was suppressed by Dickkopf1 (DKK1), a potent antagonist of canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Taken together, we for the first time showed that inhibition of Ape1 redox regulation could promote the osteo/odontogenic differentiation capacity of DPCs via canonical Wnt signaling pathway.

The Antiaging Properties of Andrographis paniculata by Activation Epidermal Cell Stemness.

PubMed

You, Jiyoung; Roh, Kyung-Baeg; Li, Zidan; Liu, Guangrong; Tang, Jian; Shin, Seoungwoo; Park, Deokhoon; Jung, Eunsun

2015-09-22

Andrographis paniculata (A. paniculata, Chuanxinlian), a medicinal herb with an extremely bitter taste that is native to China and other parts of Southeast Asia, possesses immense therapeutic value; however, its therapeutic properties have rarely been applied in the field of skin care. In this study, we investigated the effect of an A. paniculata extract (APE) on human epidermal stem cells (EpSCs), and confirmed its anti-aging effect through in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo study. An MTT assay was used to determine cell proliferation. A flow cytometric analysis, with propidium iodide, was used to evaluate the cell cycle. The expression of integrin β1 (CD29), the stem cell marker, was detected with antibodies, using flow cytometry in vitro, and immunohistochemical assays in ex vivo. Type 1 collagen and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). During the clinical study, skin hydration, elasticity, wrinkling, sagging, and dermal density were evaluated before treatment and at four and eight weeks after the treatment with the test product (containing the APE) on the face. The proliferation of the EpSCs, treated with the APE, increased significantly. In the cell cycle analysis, the APE increased the G2/M and S stages in a dose-dependent manner. The expression of integrin β1, which is related to epidermal progenitor cell expansion, was up-regulated in the APE-treated EpSCs and skin explants. In addition, the production of VEGF in the EpSCs increased significantly in response to the APE treatment. Consistent with these results, the VEGF and APE-treated EpSCs conditioned medium enhanced the Type 1 collagen production in normal human fibroblasts (NHFs). In the clinical study, the APE improved skin hydration, dermal density, wrinkling, and sagging significantly. Our findings revealed that the APE promotes a proliferation of EpSCs, through the up-regulation of the integrin β1 and VEGF expression. The VEGF might affect the collagen synthesis of NHF as a paracrine factor. Clinical studies further suggested that treatment with formulations containing APE confers anti-aging benefits. Based on these results, we suggest that APE may be introduced as a possible anti-aging agent.

Induction of base excision repair enzymes NTH1 and APE1 in rat spleen following aniline exposure

PubMed Central

Ma, Huaxian; Wang, Jianling; Abdel-Rahman, Sherif Z.; Boor, Paul J.; Khan, M. Firoze

2013-01-01

Mechanisms by which aniline exposure elicits splenotoxicity, especially a tumorigenic response, are not well-understood. Earlier, we have shown that aniline exposure leads to oxidative DNA damage and up-regulation of OGG1 and NEIL1/2 DNA glycosylases in rat spleen. However, the contribution of endonuclease III homolog 1 (NTH1) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) in the repair of aniline-induced oxidative DNA damage in the spleen is not known. This study was, therefore, focused on examining whether NTH1 and APE1 contribute to the repair of oxidative DNA lesions in the spleen, in an experimental condition preceding tumorigenesis. To achieve this, male SD rats were subchronically exposed to aniline (0.5 mmol/kg/day via drinking water for 30 days), while controls received drinking water only. By quantitating the cleavage products, the activities of NTH1 and APE1 were assayed using substrates containing thymine glycol (Tg) and tetrahydrofuran, respectively. Aniline treatment led to significant increases in NTH1- and APE1-mediated BER activity in the nuclear extracts of spleen of aniline-treated rats compared to the controls. NTH1 and APE1 mRNA expression in the spleen showed 2.9- and 3.2-fold increases, respectively, in aniline-treated rats compared to controls. Likewise, Western blot analysis showed that protein expression of NTH1 and APE1 in the nuclear extracts of spleen from aniline-treated rats was 1.9- and 2.7-fold higher than controls, respectively. Immunohistochemistry indicated that aniline treatment also led to stronger immunoreactivity for both NTH1 and APE1 in the spleens, confined to the red pulp areas. These results, thus, show that aniline exposure is associated with induction of NTH1 and APE1 in the spleen. The increased repair activity of NTH1 and APE1 could be an important mechanism for the removal of oxidative DNA lesions. These findings thus identify a novel mechanism through which NTH1 and APE1 may regulate the repair of oxidative DNA damage in aniline-induced splenic toxicity. PMID:23352893

Induction of base excision repair enzymes NTH1 and APE1 in rat spleen following aniline exposure.

PubMed

Ma, Huaxian; Wang, Jianling; Abdel-Rahman, Sherif Z; Boor, Paul J; Khan, M Firoze

2013-03-15

Mechanisms by which aniline exposure elicits splenotoxicity, especially a tumorigenic response, are not well-understood. Earlier, we have shown that aniline exposure leads to oxidative DNA damage and up-regulation of OGG1 and NEIL1/2 DNA glycosylases in rat spleen. However, the contribution of endonuclease III homolog 1 (NTH1) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) in the repair of aniline-induced oxidative DNA damage in the spleen is not known. This study was, therefore, focused on examining whether NTH1 and APE1 contribute to the repair of oxidative DNA lesions in the spleen, in an experimental condition preceding tumorigenesis. To achieve this, male SD rats were subchronically exposed to aniline (0.5 mmol/kg/day via drinking water for 30 days), while controls received drinking water only. By quantitating the cleavage products, the activities of NTH1 and APE1 were assayed using substrates containing thymine glycol (Tg) and tetrahydrofuran, respectively. Aniline treatment led to significant increases in NTH1- and APE1-mediated BER activity in the nuclear extracts of spleen of aniline-treated rats compared to the controls. NTH1 and APE1 mRNA expression in the spleen showed 2.9- and 3.2-fold increases, respectively, in aniline-treated rats compared to the controls. Likewise, Western blot analysis showed that protein expression of NTH1 and APE1 in the nuclear extracts of spleen from aniline-treated rats was 1.9- and 2.7-fold higher than the controls, respectively. Immunohistochemistry indicated that aniline treatment also led to stronger immunoreactivity for both NTH1 and APE1 in the spleens, confined to the red pulp areas. These results, thus, show that aniline exposure is associated with induction of NTH1 and APE1 in the spleen. The increased repair activity of NTH1 and APE1 could be an important mechanism for the removal of oxidative DNA lesions. These findings thus identify a novel mechanism through which NTH1 and APE1 may regulate the repair of oxidative DNA damage in aniline-induced splenic toxicity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pathogen Transmission from Humans to Great Apes is a Growing Threat to Primate Conservation.

PubMed

Dunay, Emily; Apakupakul, Kathleen; Leard, Stephen; Palmer, Jamie L; Deem, Sharon L

2018-01-23

All six great ape species are listed as endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN and experiencing decreasing population trends. One of the threats to these non-human primates is the transmission of pathogens from humans. We conducted a literature review on occurrences of pathogen transmission from humans to great apes to highlight this often underappreciated issue. In total, we found 33 individual occurrences of probable or confirmed pathogen transmission from humans to great apes: 23 involved both pathogen and disease transmission, 7 pathogen transmission only, 2 positive antibody titers to zoonotic pathogens, and 1 pathogen transmission with probable disease. Great ape populations were categorized into captive, semi-free-living, and free-living conditions. The majority of occurrences involved chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) (n = 23) or mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) (n = 8). These findings have implications for conservation efforts and management of endangered great ape populations. Future efforts should focus on monitoring and addressing zoonotic pathogen and disease transmission between humans, great ape species, and other taxa to ensure the health of humans, wild and domestic animals, and the ecosystems we share.

An AP Endonuclease Functions in Active DNA Demethylation and Gene Imprinting in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Li, Yan; Córdoba-Cañero, Dolores; Qian, Weiqiang; Zhu, Xiaohong; Tang, Kai; Zhang, Huiming; Ariza, Rafael R.; Roldán-Arjona, Teresa; Zhu, Jian-Kang

2015-01-01

Active DNA demethylation in plants occurs through base excision repair, beginning with removal of methylated cytosine by the ROS1/DME subfamily of 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylases. Active DNA demethylation in animals requires the DNA glycosylase TDG or MBD4, which functions after oxidation or deamination of 5-methylcytosine, respectively. However, little is known about the steps following DNA glycosylase action in the active DNA demethylation pathways in plants and animals. We show here that the Arabidopsis APE1L protein has apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activities and functions downstream of ROS1 and DME. APE1L and ROS1 interact in vitro and co-localize in vivo. Whole genome bisulfite sequencing of ape1l mutant plants revealed widespread alterations in DNA methylation. We show that the ape1l/zdp double mutant displays embryonic lethality. Notably, the ape1l+/−zdp−/− mutant shows a maternal-effect lethality phenotype. APE1L and the DNA phosphatase ZDP are required for FWA and MEA gene imprinting in the endosperm and are important for seed development. Thus, APE1L is a new component of the active DNA demethylation pathway and, together with ZDP, regulates gene imprinting in Arabidopsis. PMID:25569774

Morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. II. Moment arms

PubMed Central

Payne, R C; Crompton, R H; Isler, K; Savage, R; Vereecke, E E; Günther, M M; Thorpe, S K S; D'Août, K

2006-01-01

Flexion/extension moment arms were obtained for the major muscles crossing the hip, knee and ankle joints in the orang-utan, gibbon, gorilla (Eastern and Western lowland) and bonobo. Moment arms varied with joint motion and were generally longer in proximal limb muscles than distal limb muscles. The shape of the moment arm curves (i.e. the plots of moment arm against joint angle) differed in different hindlimb muscles and in the same muscle in different subjects (both in the same and in different ape species). Most moment arms increased with increasing joint flexion, a finding which may be understood in the context of the employment of flexed postures by most non-human apes (except orang-utans) during both terrestrial and arboreal locomotion. When compared with humans, non-human great apes tended to have muscles better designed for moving the joints through large ranges. This was particularly true of the pedal digital flexors in orang-utans. In gibbons, the only lesser ape studied here, many of the moment arms measured were relatively short compared with those of great apes. This study was performed on a small sample of apes and thus differences noted here warrant further investigation in larger populations. PMID:16761974

Nuclear depletion of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1/Ref-1) is an indicator of energy disruption in neurons.

PubMed

Singh, Shilpee; Englander, Ella W

2012-11-01

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein critical for cellular survival. Its involvement in adaptive survival responses includes key roles in redox sensing, transcriptional regulation, and repair of DNA damage via the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Ape1 is abundant in most cell types and central in integrating the first BER step catalyzed by different DNA glycosylases. BER is the main process for removal of oxidative DNA lesions in postmitotic brain cells, and after ischemic brain injury preservation of Ape1 coincides with neuronal survival, while its loss has been associated with neuronal death. Here, we report that in cultured primary neurons, diminution of cellular ATP by either oligomycin or H(2)O(2) is accompanied by depletion of nuclear Ape1, while other BER proteins are unaffected and retain their nuclear localization under these conditions. Importantly, while H(2)O(2) induces γH2AX phosphorylation, indicative of chromatin rearrangements in response to DNA damage, oligomycin does not. Furthermore, despite comparable diminution of ATP content, H(2)O(2) and oligomycin differentially affect critical parameters of mitochondrial respiration that ultimately determine cellular ATP content. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that in neurons, nuclear compartmentalization of Ape1 depends on ATP and loss of nuclear Ape1 reflects disruption of neuronal energy homeostasis. Energy crisis is a hallmark of stroke and other ischemic/hypoxic brain injuries. In vivo studies have shown that Ape1 deficit precedes neuronal loss in injured brain regions. Thus, our findings bring to light the possibility that energy failure-induced Ape1 depletion triggers neuronal death in ischemic brain injuries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Apes in the Anthropocene: flexibility and survival.

PubMed

Hockings, Kimberley J; McLennan, Matthew R; Carvalho, Susana; Ancrenaz, Marc; Bobe, René; Byrne, Richard W; Dunbar, Robin I M; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; McGrew, William C; Williamson, Elizabeth A; Wilson, Michael L; Wood, Bernard; Wrangham, Richard W; Hill, Catherine M

2015-04-01

We are in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and research into our closest living relatives, the great apes, must keep pace with the rate that our species is driving change. While a goal of many studies is to understand how great apes behave in natural contexts, the impact of human activities must increasingly be taken into account. This is both a challenge and an opportunity, which can importantly inform research in three diverse fields: cognition, human evolution, and conservation. No long-term great ape research site is wholly unaffected by human influence, but research at those that are especially affected by human activity is particularly important for ensuring that our great ape kin survive the Anthropocene. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eye tracking uncovered great apes' ability to anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs.

PubMed

Kano, Fumihiro; Krupenye, Christopher; Hirata, Satoshi; Call, Josep

2017-01-01

Using a novel eye-tracking test, we recently showed that great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs. This finding suggests that, like humans, great apes understand others' false beliefs, at least in an implicit way. One key question raised by our study is why apes have passed our tests but not previous ones. In this article, we consider this question by detailing the development of our task. We considered 3 major differences in our task compared with the previous ones. First, we monitored apes' eye movements, and specifically their anticipatory looks, to measure their predictions about how agents will behave. Second, we adapted our design from an anticipatory-looking false belief test originally developed for human infants. Third, we developed novel test scenarios that were specifically designed to capture the attention of our ape participants. We then discuss how each difference may help explain differences in performance on our task and previous ones, and finally propose some directions for future studies.

Co-administration of cholera toxin and apple polyphenol extract as a novel and safe mucosal adjuvant strategy.

PubMed

Yoshino, Naoto; Fujihashi, Kohtaro; Hagiwara, Yukari; Kanno, Hiroyuki; Takahashi, Kiyomi; Kobayashi, Ryoki; Inaba, Noriyuki; Noda, Masatoshi; Sato, Shigehiro

2009-07-30

Although native cholera toxin (CT) is an extremely effective adjuvant, its toxicity prevents its use in humans. We report here that apple polyphenol extract (APE), obtained from unripe apples, reduces CT-induced morphological changes and cAMP accumulation. Based upon this finding, we have attempted to design a novel, effective and safe mucosal vaccine by using CT with several dosages of APE as nasal adjuvants. Mice nasally immunized with OVA plus CT and an optimal dosage of APE showed significantly reduced levels of inflammatory responses as well as total and OVA-specific IgE antibodies when compared with mice given without APE. However, levels of both mucosal and systemic OVA-specific antibody responses were maintained. Further, APE significantly down-regulated accumulation of CT in the olfactory nerves and epithelium. In summary, an optimal dosage of APE would take full advantage of mucosal adjuvanticity of native CT without any toxicity for application in humans.

Andrzej PȨKALSKI Networks of Scientific Interests with Internal Degrees of Freedom Through Self-Citation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ausloos, M.; Lambiotte, R.; Scharnhorst, A.; Hellsten, I.

Old and recent theoretical works by Andrzej Pȩkalski (APE) are recalled as possible sources of interest for describing network formation and clustering in complex (scientific) communities, through self-organization and percolation processes. Emphasis is placed on APE self-citation network over four decades. The method is that used for detecting scientists' field mobility by focusing on author's self-citation, co-authorships and article topics networks as in Refs. 1 and 2. It is shown that APE's self-citation patterns reveal important information on APE interest for research topics over time as well as APE engagement on different scientific topics and in different networks of collaboration. Its interesting complexity results from "degrees of freedom" and external fields leading to so called internal shock resistance. It is found that APE network of scientific interests belongs to independent clusters and occurs through rare or drastic events as in irreversible "preferential attachment processes", similar to those found in usual mechanics and thermodynamics phase transitions.

Induction of Chemoresistance by All-Trans Retinoic Acid via a Noncanonical Signaling in Multiple Myeloma Cells

PubMed Central

Jiang, Kesheng; Huang, Qiaoli; Chen, Yicheng; Qian, Feng

2014-01-01

Despite the successful application of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in multiple myeloma treatment, ATRA-induced chemoresistance in the myeloma patients is very common in clinic. In this study, we evaluated the effect of ATRA on the expression of apurinic endonuclease/redox factor-1 (Ape/Ref-1) in the U266 and RPMI-8226 myeloma cells to explore the chemoresistance mechanism involved. ATRA treatment induced upregulation of Ape/Ref-1 via a noncanonical signaling pathway, leading to enhanced pro-survival activity counteracting melphalan (an alkylating agent). ATRA rapidly activated p38-MSK (mitogen- and stress activated protein kinase) cascade to phosphorylate cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). Phosphorylated CREB was recruited to the Ape/Ref-1 promoter to evoke the gene expression. The stimulation of ATRA on Ape/Ref-1 expression was attenuated by either p38-MSK inhibitors or overexpression of dominant-negative MSK1 mutants. Moreover, ATRA-mediated Ape/Ref-1 upregulation was correlated with histone modification and activation of CBP/p300, an important cofactors for CREB transcriptional activity. C646, a competitive CBP/p300 inhibitor, abolished the upregulation of Ape/Ref-1 induced by ATRA. Intriguingly, CBP rather than p300 played a dominant role in the expression of Ape/Ref-1. Hence, our study suggests the existence of a noncanonical mechanism involving p38-MSK-CREB cascade and CBP induction to mediate ATRA-induced Ape/Ref-1 expression and acquired chemoresistance in myeloma cells. PMID:24416428

Evaluating the effect of a year-long film focused environmental education program on Ugandan student knowledge of and attitudes toward great apes.

PubMed

Leeds, Austin; Lukas, Kristen E; Kendall, Corinne J; Slavin, Michelle A; Ross, Elizabeth A; Robbins, Martha M; van Weeghel, Dagmar; Bergl, Richard A

2017-08-01

Films, as part of a larger environmental education program, have the potential to influence the knowledge and attitudes of viewers. However, to date, no evaluations have been published reporting the effectiveness of films, when used within primate range countries as part of a conservation themed program. The Great Ape Education Project was a year-long environmental education program implemented in Uganda for primary school students living adjacent to Kibale National Park (KNP) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP). Students viewed a trilogy of conservation films about great apes, produced specifically for this audience, and participated in complementary extra-curricular activities. The knowledge and attitudes of students participating in the program from KNP, but not BINP were assessed using questionnaires prior to (N = 1271) and following (N = 872) the completion of the program. Following the program, students demonstrated a significant increase in their knowledge of threats to great apes and an increase in their knowledge of ways that villagers and students can help conserve great apes. Additionally, student attitudes toward great apes improved following the program. For example, students showed an increase in agreement with liking great apes and viewing them as important to the environment. These data provide evidence that conservation films made specifically to address regional threats and using local actors and settings can positively influence knowledge of and attitudes toward great apes among students living in a primate range country. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Problem solving in great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Pongo abelii): the effect of visual feedback.

PubMed

Völter, Christoph J; Call, Josep

2012-09-01

What kind of information animals use when solving problems is a controversial topic. Previous research suggests that, in some situations, great apes prefer to use causally relevant cues over arbitrary ones. To further examine to what extent great apes are able to use information about causal relations, we presented three different puzzle box problems to the four nonhuman great ape species. Of primary interest here was a comparison between one group of apes that received visual access to the functional mechanisms of the puzzle boxes and one group that did not. Apes' performance in the first two, less complex puzzle boxes revealed that they are able to solve such problems by means of trial-and-error learning, requiring no information about the causal structure of the problem. However, visual inspection of the functional mechanisms of the puzzle boxes reduced the amount of time needed to solve the problems. In the case of the most complex problem, which required the use of a crank, visual feedback about what happened when the handle of the crank was turned was necessary for the apes to solve the task. Once the solution was acquired, however, visual feedback was no longer required. We conclude that visual feedback about the consequences of their actions helps great apes to solve complex problems. As the crank task matches the basic requirements of vertical string pulling in birds, the present results are discussed in light of recent findings with corvids.

Do bowerbirds exhibit cultures?

PubMed

Madden, Joah R

2008-01-01

Definitions of what features constitute cultural behaviour, and hence define cultures are numerous. Many seem designed to describe those aspects of human behaviour which set us apart from other animals. A broad definition prescribing that the behaviour is: learned; learned socially; normative and collective is considered to apply to several species of great ape. In this paper, I review observations and experiments covering a suite of different behavioural characteristics displayed in members of the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae) and ask whether they fulfil these criteria. These include vocalisations, bower design, decoration use, bower orientation and display movements. Such a range of behaviours refutes the suggestion that these species are "one-trick ponies"--a criticism that is often levelled at claims for culture in non-primate species. I suggest that, despite a paucity of data in comparison with primate studies, it could be argued that bowerbirds may be considered to fulfil the same criteria on which we base our use of the term culture when applied to our close relatives, the great apes. If bowerbirds do have cultures, then their unusual natural history makes them a highly tractable system in which questions of social learning and culture can be tackled.

Reconsidering great ape imitation and pantomime. Comment on "Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russon, Anne E.

2016-03-01

Like previous commentators, I see Arbib's reconstruction of the mirror neuron system's contribution to language evolution [1] as valuable but in need of revision [2,3]. My concerns focus on his proposed behavioral pathway to language - complex imitation to pantomime to protosign - as it concerns great apes. Arbib portrays these abilities as unique to the human lineage, despite evidence that great apes are capable of all three. I suggest great ape findings worth reconsidering.

Gravity and solidity in four great ape species (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus): vertical and horizontal variations of the table task.

PubMed

Cacchione, Trix; Call, Josep; Zingg, Robert

2009-05-01

Three experiments modeled after infant studies were run on four great ape species (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) to investigate their reasoning about solidity and gravity constraints. The aims were: (a) to find out if great apes are subject to gravity biased search or display sensitivity for object solidity, (b) to check for species differences, and (c) to assess if a gravity hypothesis or more parsimonious explanations best account for failures observed. Results indicate that great apes, unlike monkeys, show no reliable gravity bias, that ape species slightly differ in terms of their performance, and that the errors made are best explained by a gravity account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Body Image Disturbance in 1000 Male Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drug Users

PubMed Central

Hildebrandt, Tom; Alfano, Lauren; Langenbucher, James W.

2010-01-01

Body image disturbance (BID) among men has only recently become a phenomenon of clinical significance with noted heterogeneity in the behavioral consequences of these disturbances. The degree of heterogeneity among appearance and performance enhancing drug (APED) users is unknown and an empirically derived framework for studying BID is necessary. 1000 APED users were recruited via the Internet and they completed a comprehensive online assessment APED use patterns, motivations, consequences, and BID. Data were evaluated using latent trait, latent class, and factor mixture models. Model results were validated using a range of covariates including cycle characteristics, age, APED history, and APED risk. A 1-Factor, 4-Class model provided the best fit to the data with Class 1 scoring the highest on all measures of BID and Class 4 the lowest on all measures. Class 2 differed in their preference for being lean over muscular and Class 3 preferred adding mass and size. Each class was associated with unique risks, APED history, and training identity. Not all APED users suffer from significant BID and there are unique profiles for those with elevated BID. Future research on male BID should account for this structure in order to better define relevant diagnostic categories and evaluate the clinical significance of BID. PMID:20110092

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Premature Ejaculation in the Anhui Male Population in China: Evidence-Based Unified Definition of Lifelong and Acquired Premature Ejaculation.

PubMed

Gao, Jingjing; Peng, Dangwei; Zhang, Xiansheng; Hao, Zongyao; Zhou, Jun; Fan, Song; Zhang, Yao; Mao, Jun; Dou, Xianming; Liang, Chaozhao

2017-03-01

In 2014, new evidence-based definitions of lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) and acquired premature ejaculation (APE) were proposed by the International Society for Sexual Medicine. Based on the new PE definitions, the prevalence of and factors associated with LPE and APE have not been investigated in China. To evaluate the prevalence of and factors associated with LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE in China. From December 2011 to December 2015, a cross-sectional field survey was conducted in five cities in the Anhui province of China. Questionnaire data of 3,579 men were collected in our database. The questionnaire included subjects' demographic information and medical and sexual histories. Men who were not satisfied with their time to ejaculate were accepted as having the complaint of PE. Men with the complaint of PE who met the new definition of PE were diagnosed as having LPE or APE. New definition of LPE and APE. Of 3,579 men who completed the questionnaire, 34.62% complained of PE. Mean age, body mass index, and self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time for all subjects were 34.97 ± 9.02 years, 23.33 ± 3.56 kg/m 2 , and 3.09 ± 1.36 minutes, respectively. The prevalences of LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE were 10.98% and 21.39%, respectively. LPE and APE were associated with age, body mass index, and smoking and exercise rates (P < .001 for all comparisons). Men with APE reported more comorbidities than men with LPE, especially in the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease (P < .001 for all comparisons). In this study, the prevalences of LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE were 10.98% and 21.39%, respectively. Patients with APE were older and more likely to smoke, had more comorbidities, and had a higher body mass index than patients with LPE. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chest sonography: a useful tool to differentiate acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema from acute respiratory distress syndrome

PubMed Central

Copetti, Roberto; Soldati, Gino; Copetti, Paolo

2008-01-01

Background Differential diagnosis between acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema (APE) and acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) may often be difficult. We evaluated the ability of chest sonography in the identification of characteristic pleuropulmonary signs useful in the diagnosis of ALI/ARDS and APE. Methods Chest sonography was performed on admission to the intensive care unit in 58 consecutive patients affected by ALI/ARDS or by acute pulmonary edema (APE). Results Ultrasound examination was focalised on finding in the two groups the presence of: 1) alveolar-interstitial syndrome (AIS) 2) pleural lines abnormalities 3) absence or reduction of "gliding" sign 4) "spared areas" 5) consolidations 6) pleural effusion 7) "lung pulse". AIS was found in 100% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 100% of patients with APE (p = ns). Pleural line abnormalities were observed in 100% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 25% of patients with APE (p < 0.0001). Absence or reduction of the 'gliding sign' was observed in 100% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 0% of patients with APE. 'Spared areas' were observed in 100% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 0% of patients with APE (p < 0.0001). Consolidations were present in 83.3% of patients with ALI/ARDS in 0% of patients with APE (p < 0.0001). A pleural effusion was present in 66.6% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 95% of patients with APE (p < 0.004). 'Lung pulse' was observed in 50% of patients with ALI/ARDS and in 0% of patients with APE (p < 0.0001). All signs, except the presence of AIS, presented a statistically significant difference in presentation between the two syndromes resulting specific for the ultrasonographic characterization of ALI/ARDS. Conclusion Pleuroparenchimal patterns in ALI/ARDS do find a characterization through ultrasonographic lung scan. In the critically ill the ultrasound demonstration of a dyshomogeneous AIS with spared areas, pleural line modifications and lung consolidations is strongly predictive, in an early phase, of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. PMID:18442425

Cognitive cladistics and cultural override in Hominid spatial cognition

PubMed Central

Haun, Daniel B. M.; Rapold, Christian J.; Call, Josep; Janzen, Gabriele; Levinson, Stephen C.

2006-01-01

Current approaches to human cognition often take a strong nativist stance based on Western adult performance, backed up where possible by neonate and infant research and almost never by comparative research across the Hominidae. Recent research suggests considerable cross-cultural differences in cognitive strategies, including relational thinking, a domain where infant research is impossible because of lack of cognitive maturation. Here, we apply the same paradigm across children and adults of different cultures and across all nonhuman great ape genera. We find that both child and adult spatial cognition systematically varies with language and culture but that, nevertheless, there is a clear inherited bias for one spatial strategy in the great apes. It is reasonable to conclude, we argue, that language and culture mask the native tendencies in our species. This cladistic approach suggests that the correct perspective on human cognition is neither nativist uniformitarian nor “blank slate” but recognizes the powerful impact that language and culture can have on our shared primate cognitive biases. PMID:17079489

Independent evolution of knuckle-walking in African apes shows that humans did not evolve from a knuckle-walking ancestor.

PubMed

Kivell, Tracy L; Schmitt, Daniel

2009-08-25

Despite decades of debate, it remains unclear whether human bipedalism evolved from a terrestrial knuckle-walking ancestor or from a more generalized, arboreal ape ancestor. Proponents of the knuckle-walking hypothesis focused on the wrist and hand to find morphological evidence of this behavior in the human fossil record. These studies, however, have not examined variation or development of purported knuckle-walking features in apes or other primates, data that are critical to resolution of this long-standing debate. Here we present novel data on the frequency and development of putative knuckle-walking features of the wrist in apes and monkeys. We use these data to test the hypothesis that all knuckle-walking apes share similar anatomical features and that these features can be used to reliably infer locomotor behavior in our extinct ancestors. Contrary to previous expectations, features long-assumed to indicate knuckle-walking behavior are not found in all African apes, show different developmental patterns across species, and are found in nonknuckle-walking primates as well. However, variation among African ape wrist morphology can be clearly explained if we accept the likely independent evolution of 2 fundamentally different biomechanical modes of knuckle-walking: an extended wrist posture in an arboreal environment (Pan) versus a neutral, columnar hand posture in a terrestrial environment (Gorilla). The presence of purported knuckle-walking features in the hominin wrist can thus be viewed as evidence of arboreality, not terrestriality, and provide evidence that human bipedalism evolved from a more arboreal ancestor occupying the ecological niche common to all living apes.

Losartan exerts no protective effects against acute pulmonary embolism-induced hemodynamic changes.

PubMed

Dias, Carlos A; Neto-Neves, Evandro M; Montenegro, Marcelo F; Tanus-Santos, Jose E

2012-02-01

The acute obstruction of pulmonary vessels by venous thrombi is a critical condition named acute pulmonary embolism (APE). During massive APE, severe pulmonary hypertension may lead to death secondary to right heart failure and circulatory shock. APE-induced pulmonary hypertension is aggravated by active pulmonary vasoconstriction. While blocking the effects of some vasoconstrictors exerts beneficial effects, no previous study has examined whether angiotensin II receptor blockers protect against the hemodynamic changes associated with APE. We examined the effects exerted by losartan on APE-induced hemodynamic changes. Hemodynamic evaluations were performed in non-embolized lambs treated with saline (n = 4) and in lambs that were embolized with silicon microspheres and treated with losartan (30 mg/kg followed by 1 mg/kg/h, n = 5) or saline (n = 7) infusions. The plasma and lung angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity were assessed using a fluorometric method. APE increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRI) by 21 ± 2 mmHg and 375 ± 20 dyn s cm⁻⁵ m⁻², respectively (P < 0.05). Losartan decreased MPAP significantly (by approximately 15%), without significant changes in PVRI and tended to decrease cardiac index (P > 0.05). Lung and plasma ACE activity were similar in both embolized and non-embolized animals. Our findings show evidence of lack of activation of the renin-angiotensin system during APE. The lack of significant effects of losartan on the pulmonary vascular resistance suggests that losartan does not protect against the hemodynamic changes found during APE.

The limits of endowment effects in great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus).

PubMed

Kanngiesser, Patricia; Santos, Laurie R; Hood, Bruce M; Call, Josep

2011-11-01

The endowment effect describes the bias that people often value things that they possess more than things they do not possess. Thus, they are often reluctant to trade items in their possession for items of equivalent value. Some nonhuman primates appear to share this bias with humans, but it remains an open question whether they show endowment effects to the same extent as humans do. We investigated endowment effects in all four great ape species (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) by varying whether apes were endowed with food items (Experiment 1, N = 22) or tools that were instrumental in retrieving food (Experiment 2, N = 23). We first assessed apes' preferences for items of a pair and their willingness to trade items in their possession. We then endowed apes with one item of a pair and offered them to trade for the other item. Apes showed endowment effects for food, but not for tools. In Experiment 3, we endowed bonobos (N = 4) and orangutans (N = 5) with either one or 12 food items. Endowment effects did not differ between species and were not influenced by the number of endowed food items. Our findings suggest that endowment effects in great apes are restricted to immediate food gratification and remain unaffected by the quantity of food rewards. However, endowment effects do not seem to extend to other, nonconsumable possessions even when they are instrumental in retrieving food. In general, apes do not show endowment effects across a range of different commodities as humans typically do.

Embodied niche construction in the hominin lineage: semiotic structure and sustained attention in human embodied cognition

PubMed Central

Stutz, Aaron J.

2014-01-01

Human evolution unfolded through a rather distinctive, dynamically constructed ecological niche. The human niche is not only generally terrestrial in habitat, while being flexibly and extensively heterotrophic in food-web connections. It is also defined by semiotically structured and structuring embodied cognitive interfaces, connecting the individual organism with the wider environment. The embodied dimensions of niche-population co-evolution have long involved semiotic system construction, which I hypothesize to be an evolutionarily primitive aspect of learning and higher-level cognitive integration and attention in the great apes and humans alike. A clearly pre-linguistic form of semiotic cognitive structuration is suggested to involve recursively learned and constructed object icons. Higher-level cognitive iconic representation of visually, auditorily, or haptically perceived extrasomatic objects would be learned and evoked through indexical connections to proprioceptive and affective somatic states. Thus, private cognitive signs would be defined, not only by their learned and perceived extrasomatic referents, but also by their associations to iconically represented somatic states. This evolutionary modification of animal associative learning is suggested to be adaptive in ecological niches occupied by long-lived, large-bodied ape species, facilitating memory construction and recall in highly varied foraging and social contexts, while sustaining selective attention during goal-directed behavioral sequences. The embodied niche construction (ENC) hypothesis of human evolution posits that in the early hominin lineage, natural selection further modified the ancestral ape semiotic adaptations, favoring the recursive structuration of concise iconic narratives of embodied interaction with the environment. PMID:25136323

Embodied niche construction in the hominin lineage: semiotic structure and sustained attention in human embodied cognition.

PubMed

Stutz, Aaron J

2014-01-01

Human evolution unfolded through a rather distinctive, dynamically constructed ecological niche. The human niche is not only generally terrestrial in habitat, while being flexibly and extensively heterotrophic in food-web connections. It is also defined by semiotically structured and structuring embodied cognitive interfaces, connecting the individual organism with the wider environment. The embodied dimensions of niche-population co-evolution have long involved semiotic system construction, which I hypothesize to be an evolutionarily primitive aspect of learning and higher-level cognitive integration and attention in the great apes and humans alike. A clearly pre-linguistic form of semiotic cognitive structuration is suggested to involve recursively learned and constructed object icons. Higher-level cognitive iconic representation of visually, auditorily, or haptically perceived extrasomatic objects would be learned and evoked through indexical connections to proprioceptive and affective somatic states. Thus, private cognitive signs would be defined, not only by their learned and perceived extrasomatic referents, but also by their associations to iconically represented somatic states. This evolutionary modification of animal associative learning is suggested to be adaptive in ecological niches occupied by long-lived, large-bodied ape species, facilitating memory construction and recall in highly varied foraging and social contexts, while sustaining selective attention during goal-directed behavioral sequences. The embodied niche construction (ENC) hypothesis of human evolution posits that in the early hominin lineage, natural selection further modified the ancestral ape semiotic adaptations, favoring the recursive structuration of concise iconic narratives of embodied interaction with the environment.

A Competitive Nonverbal False Belief Task for Children and Apes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krachun, Carla; Carpenter, Malinda; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2009-01-01

A nonverbal false belief task was administered to children (mean age 5 years) and two great ape species: chimpanzees ("Pan troglodytes") and bonobos ("Pan paniscus"). Because apes typically perform poorly in cooperative contexts, our task was competitive. Two versions were run: in both, a human competitor witnessed an experimenter hide a reward in…

Do Great Apes Use Emotional Expressions to Infer Desires?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buttelmann, David; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2009-01-01

Although apes understand others' goals and perceptions, little is known about their understanding of others' emotional expressions. We conducted three studies following the general paradigm of Repacholi and colleagues (1997, 1998). In Study 1, a human reacted emotionally to the hidden contents of two boxes, after which the ape was allowed to…

Does sympathy motivate prosocial behaviour in great apes?

PubMed

Liebal, Katja; Vaish, Amrisha; Haun, Daniel; Tomasello, Michael

2014-01-01

Prosocial behaviours such as helping, comforting, or sharing are central to human social life. Because they emerge early in ontogeny, it has been proposed that humans are prosocial by nature and that from early on empathy and sympathy motivate such behaviours. The emerging question is whether humans share these abilities to feel with and for someone with our closest relatives, the great apes. Although several studies demonstrated that great apes help others, little is known about their underlying motivations. This study addresses this issue and investigates whether four species of great apes (Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) help a conspecific more after observing the conspecific being harmed (a human experimenter steals the conspecific's food) compared to a condition where no harming occurred. Results showed that in regard to the occurrence of prosocial behaviours, only orangutans, but not the African great apes, help others when help is needed, contrasting prior findings on chimpanzees. However, with the exception of one population of orangutans that helped significantly more after a conspecific was harmed than when no harm occurred, prosocial behaviour in great apes was not motivated by concern for others.

Environmental estrogenic effects of alkylphenol ethoxylates.

PubMed

Nimrod, A C; Benson, W H

1996-05-01

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and related compounds recently have been reported to be estrogenic because it has been demonstrated in laboratory studies that they mimic the effects of estradiol both in vitro and in vivo. Chemicals referred to as "environmental estrogens" are suspected of causing health effects in both humans and wildlife through disruption of the endocrine system. In this review, the occurrence, environmental fate, and biological effects of APEs are presented. To provide understanding of the potential for endocrine disruption due to environmental estrogens, the physiology of estrogens in mammals and fish is also reviewed. The estrogenic potency of other environmental estrogens is compared to the potency of APE degradation products. The reproductive effects of estrogenic compounds are considered when evaluating the potential health effects of APEs. Given the reported environmental concentrations and bioconcentration factors of APE products, the potential for these compounds to produce estrogenic effects in the environment appears low. Although questions concerning the physiological effects of APEs and other environmental estrogens remain unanswered, there are indications that research is in progress that will lead to better understanding of the risks to humans and wildlife.

Remnants of an ancient forest provide ecological context for Early Miocene fossil apes.

PubMed

Michel, Lauren A; Peppe, Daniel J; Lutz, James A; Driese, Steven G; Dunsworth, Holly M; Harcourt-Smith, William E H; Horner, William H; Lehmann, Thomas; Nightingale, Sheila; McNulty, Kieran P

2014-01-01

The lineage of apes and humans (Hominoidea) evolved and radiated across Afro-Arabia in the early Neogene during a time of global climatic changes and ongoing tectonic processes that formed the East African Rift. These changes probably created highly variable environments and introduced selective pressures influencing the diversification of early apes. However, interpreting the connection between environmental dynamics and adaptive evolution is hampered by difficulties in locating taxa within specific ecological contexts: time-averaged or reworked deposits may not faithfully represent individual palaeohabitats. Here we present multiproxy evidence from Early Miocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, which directly ties the early ape Proconsul to a widespread, dense, multistoried, closed-canopy tropical seasonal forest set in a warm and relatively wet, local climate. These results underscore the importance of forested environments in the evolution of early apes.

Great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs.

PubMed

Krupenye, Christopher; Kano, Fumihiro; Hirata, Satoshi; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2016-10-07

Humans operate with a "theory of mind" with which they are able to understand that others' actions are driven not by reality but by beliefs about reality, even when those beliefs are false. Although great apes share with humans many social-cognitive skills, they have repeatedly failed experimental tests of such false-belief understanding. We use an anticipatory looking test (originally developed for human infants) to show that three species of great apes reliably look in anticipation of an agent acting on a location where he falsely believes an object to be, even though the apes themselves know that the object is no longer there. Our results suggest that great apes also operate, at least on an implicit level, with an understanding of false beliefs. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The impact of environment on the comprehension of declarative communication in apes.

PubMed

Lyn, Heidi; Russell, Jamie L; Hopkins, William D

2010-03-01

A series of recent reports have questioned the ability of great apes to comprehend declarative communication and have suggested that this ability is biologically based and may have driven the evolution of human language. We tested three groups of differently reared chimpanzees and bonobos for their ability to understand declarative signals in an object-choice task. The scores of the two groups of apes that were reared in a sociolinguistically complex environment were significantly higher than the scores of the standard-reared group. The results further showed that bonobos did not outperform chimpanzees. Our results demonstrate that environmental factors, particularly access to a sociolinguistically rich environment, directly influence great apes' ability to comprehend declarative signals and suggest that, contrary to recent claims, apes have the biological capacity to utilize purely informative communication.

Great Apes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Cerveny, Shannon

2014-01-01

Anesthesia of great apes is often necessary to conduct diagnostic analysis, provide therapeutics, facilitate surgical procedures, and enable transport and translocation for conservation purposes. Due to the stress of remote delivery injection of anesthetic agents, recent studies have focused on oral delivery and/or transmucosal absorption of preanesthetic and anesthetic agents. Maintenance of the airway and provision of oxygen is an important aspect of anesthesia in great ape species. The provision of analgesia is an important aspect of the anesthesia protocol for any procedure involving painful stimuli. Opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often administered alone, or in combination to provide multi-modal analgesia. There is increasing conservation management of in situ great ape populations, which has resulted in the development of field anesthesia techniques for free-living great apes for the purposes of translocation, reintroduction into the wild, and clinical interventions.

Quantitative three-dimensional shape analysis of the proximal hallucial metatarsal articular surface in Homo, Pan, Gorilla, and Hylobates.

PubMed

Proctor, Daniel J; Broadfield, Douglas; Proctor, Kristopher

2008-02-01

Multidimensional morphometrics is used to compare the proximal articular surface of the first metatarsal between Homo, Pan, Gorilla, Hylobates, and the hominin fossils A.L. 333-54 (A. afarensis), SKX 5017 (P. robustus), and OH 8 (H. habilis). Statistically significant differences in articular surface morphology exist between H. sapiens and the apes, and between ape groups. Ape groups are characterized by greater surface depth, an obliquely curved articular surface through the dorso-lateral and medio-plantar regions, and a wider medio-lateral surface relative to the dorso-plantar height. The OH 8 articular surface is indistinguishable from H. sapiens, while A.L. 333-54 and SKX 5017 more closely resemble the apes. P. robustus and A. afarensis exhibit ape-like oblique curvature of the articular surface. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Rotator cuff muscle function and its relation to scapular morphology in apes.

PubMed

Larson, Susan G; Stern, Jack T

2013-10-01

It is widely held that many differences among primate species in scapular morphology can be functionally related to differing demands on the shoulder associated with particular locomotor habits. This perspective is largely based on broad scale studies, while more narrow comparisons of scapular form often fail to follow predictions based on inferred differences in shoulder function. For example, the ratio of supraspinous fossa/infraspinous fossa size in apes is commonly viewed as an indicator of the importance of overhead use of the forelimb, yet paradoxically, the African apes, the most terrestrial of the great apes, have higher scapular fossa ratios than the more suspensory orangutan. The recent discovery of several nearly complete early hominin scapular specimens, and their apparent morphological affinities to scapulae of orangutans and gorillas rather than chimpanzees, has led to renewed interest in the comparative analysis of human and extant ape scapular form. To facilitate the functional interpretation of differences in ape scapulae, particularly in regard to relative scapular fossa size, we used electromyography (EMG) to document the activity patterns in all four rotator cuff muscles in orangutans and gibbons, comparing the results with previously published data for chimpanzees. The EMG results indicate that the distinctive contributions of each cuff muscle to locomotion are the same in the three ape species, failing to support inferences of differences in rotator cuff function based on relative scapular fossa size comparisons. It is also shown that relative scapular fossa size is not in fact a good predictor of either the relative masses or cross-sectional areas of the rotator cuff muscles in apes, and relative fossa size gives a false impression of the importance of individual cuff muscles to locomotor differences among apes. A possible explanation for the disparity between fossa and muscle size relates to the underappreciated role of the scapular spine in structural reinforcement of the blade. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic value of QRS and S wave variation in patients with suspicion of acute pulmonary embolism.

PubMed

Çağdaş, Metin; Karakoyun, Süleyman; Rencüzoğulları, İbrahim; Karabağ, Yavuz; Artaç, İnanç; İliş, Doğan; Hamideyin, Şerif; Karayol, Sibel; Çiftçi, Handan; Çınar, Tufan

2018-03-29

This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of QRS and S wave variation in patients admitted to the emergency department with suspicion of acute pulmonary embolism (APE). Computerized tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was performed in 118 consecutive patients to evaluate patients with suspected APE, and 106 subjects with appropriate electrocardiogram and CT images constituted the study population. Using CTPA, APE was diagnosed in 48.1% (n:51) of the study population. The comparison of patients with APE and those without APE revealed that increased heart rate, right axis deviation of QRS axis, complete or incomplete right bundle branch block, prominent S wave in lead D1, increased QRS duration, percentage of QRS (9,8[4,8-19,0] vs 3,8[2,7-71]; p<0,001), S wave variation (22,3[9,6-31,9] vs 4,8 [2-8]; p<0,001) and ΔS wave amplitude (1.1[0.5-1.5] vs 0.2[0.1-0.5]; p<0.001) were significantly associated with APE, but no relationship was detected with respect to the presence of atrial arrhythmias, clockwise rotation of the horizontal axis, fragmentation, ST segment deviation, T wave inversion, and S1Q3T3 and S1S2S3 patterns. The percentage of S wave variation (OR: 1072 per 1% increase, 95% CI:1011-1137) was found to be an independent predictor of APE. ΔS wave amplitude>0.5mm predicted APE with a sensitivity of 72.6% and a specificity of 74.6% (AUC:0.805, 95% CI: 0.717-0.876; p<0.001). The present study demonstrated that QRS and S wave variation could be useful electrocardiographic signs for the diagnosis of APE. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Old World Monkeys Compare to Apes in the Primate Cognition Test Battery

PubMed Central

Schmitt, Vanessa; Pankau, Birte; Fischer, Julia

2012-01-01

Understanding the evolution of intelligence rests on comparative analyses of brain sizes as well as the assessment of cognitive skills of different species in relation to potential selective pressures such as environmental conditions and social organization. Because of the strong interest in human cognition, much previous work has focused on the comparison of the cognitive skills of human toddlers to those of our closest living relatives, i.e. apes. Such analyses revealed that apes and children have relatively similar competencies in the physical domain, while human children excel in the socio-cognitive domain; in particular in terms of attention sharing, cooperation, and mental state attribution. To develop a full understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of primate intelligence, however, comparative data for monkeys are needed. We tested 18 Old World monkeys (long-tailed macaques and olive baboons) in the so-called Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB) (Herrmann et al. 2007, Science). Surprisingly, our tests revealed largely comparable results between Old World monkeys and the Great apes. Single comparisons showed that chimpanzees performed only better than the macaques in experiments on spatial understanding and tool use, but in none of the socio-cognitive tasks. These results question the clear-cut relationship between cognitive performance and brain size and – prima facie – support the view of an accelerated evolution of social intelligence in humans. One limitation, however, is that the initial experiments were devised to tap into human specific skills in the first place, thus potentially underestimating both true nonhuman primate competencies as well as species differences. PMID:22485130

Antioxidant Artemisia princeps Extract Enhances the Expression of Filaggrin and Loricrin via the AHR/OVOL1 Pathway.

PubMed

Hirano, Akiko; Goto, Masashi; Mitsui, Tsukasa; Hashimoto-Hachiya, Akiko; Tsuji, Gaku; Furue, Masutaka

2017-09-11

The Japanese mugwort, Artemisia princeps ( yomogi in Japanese), has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Skin care products containing Artemisia princeps extract (APE) are known to improve dry skin symptoms in atopic dermatitis. Atopic dry skin is associated with a marked reduction of skin barrier proteins, such as filaggrin (FLG) and loricrin (LOR). Recently, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), and its downstream transcription factor OVO-like 1 (OVOL1), have been shown to regulate the gene expression of FLG and LOR. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the effects of APE on the AHR/OVOL1/FLG or LOR pathway since they have remained unknown to this point. We first demonstrated that non-cytotoxic concentrations of APE significantly upregulated antioxidant enzymes, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 and heme oxygenase 1, in human keratinocytes. Even at these low concentrations, APE induced nuclear translocation of AHR and significantly upregulated CYP1A1 (a specific target gene for AHR activation), FLG , and LOR expression. AHR knockdown downregulated OVOL1 expression. The APE-induced upregulation of FLG and LOR was canceled in keratinocytes with AHR or OVOL1 knockdown. In conclusion, antioxidant APE is a potent phytoextract that upregulates FLG and LOR expression in an AHR/OVOL1-dependent manner and this may underpin the barrier-repairing effects of APE in treating atopic dry skin.

Antioxidant Artemisia princeps Extract Enhances the Expression of Filaggrin and Loricrin via the AHR/OVOL1 Pathway

PubMed Central

Hirano, Akiko; Goto, Masashi; Mitsui, Tsukasa; Hashimoto-Hachiya, Akiko; Tsuji, Gaku; Furue, Masutaka

2017-01-01

The Japanese mugwort, Artemisia princeps (yomogi in Japanese), has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Skin care products containing Artemisia princeps extract (APE) are known to improve dry skin symptoms in atopic dermatitis. Atopic dry skin is associated with a marked reduction of skin barrier proteins, such as filaggrin (FLG) and loricrin (LOR). Recently, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), and its downstream transcription factor OVO-like 1 (OVOL1), have been shown to regulate the gene expression of FLG and LOR. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the effects of APE on the AHR/OVOL1/FLG or LOR pathway since they have remained unknown to this point. We first demonstrated that non-cytotoxic concentrations of APE significantly upregulated antioxidant enzymes, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 and heme oxygenase 1, in human keratinocytes. Even at these low concentrations, APE induced nuclear translocation of AHR and significantly upregulated CYP1A1 (a specific target gene for AHR activation), FLG, and LOR expression. AHR knockdown downregulated OVOL1 expression. The APE-induced upregulation of FLG and LOR was canceled in keratinocytes with AHR or OVOL1 knockdown. In conclusion, antioxidant APE is a potent phytoextract that upregulates FLG and LOR expression in an AHR/OVOL1-dependent manner and this may underpin the barrier-repairing effects of APE in treating atopic dry skin. PMID:28892018

Inhibitors of nuclease and redox activity of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox effector factor 1 (APE1/Ref-1).

PubMed

Laev, Sergey S; Salakhutdinov, Nariman F; Lavrik, Olga I

2017-05-01

Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox effector factor 1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein which is essential in the base excision repair (BER) pathway of DNA lesions caused by oxidation and alkylation. This protein hydrolyzes DNA adjacent to the 5'-end of an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site to produce a nick with a 3'-hydroxyl group and a 5'-deoxyribose phosphate moiety or activates the DNA-binding activity of certain transcription factors through its redox function. Studies have indicated a role for APE1/Ref-1 in the pathogenesis of cancer and in resistance to DNA-interactive drugs. Thus, this protein has potential as a target in cancer treatment. As a result, major efforts have been directed to identify small molecule inhibitors against APE1/Ref-1 activities. These agents have the potential to become anticancer drugs. The aim of this review is to present recent progress in studies of all published small molecule APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors. The structures and activities of APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors, that target both DNA repair and redox activities, are presented and discussed. To date, there is an urgent need for further development of the design and synthesis of APE1/Ref-1 inhibitors due to high importance of this protein target. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is moral elevation an approach-oriented emotion?

PubMed Central

Van de Vyver, Julie; Abrams, Dominic

2017-01-01

Abstract Two studies were designed to test whether moral elevation should be conceptualized as an approach-oriented emotion. The studies examined the relationship between moral elevation and the behavioral activation and inhibition systems. Study 1 (N = 80) showed that individual differences in moral elevation were associated with individual differences in behavioral activation but not inhibition. Study 2 (N = 78) showed that an elevation-inducing video promoted equally high levels of approach orientation as an anger-inducing video and significantly higher levels of approach orientation than a control video. Furthermore, the elevation-inducing stimulus (vs. the control condition) significantly promoted prosocial motivation and this effect was sequentially mediated by feelings of moral elevation followed by an approach-oriented state. Overall the results show unambiguous support for the proposal that moral elevation is an approach-oriented emotion. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed. PMID:28191027

Are great apes able to reason from multi-item samples to populations of food items?

PubMed

Eckert, Johanna; Rakoczy, Hannes; Call, Josep

2017-10-01

Inductive learning from limited observations is a cognitive capacity of fundamental importance. In humans, it is underwritten by our intuitive statistics, the ability to draw systematic inferences from populations to randomly drawn samples and vice versa. According to recent research in cognitive development, human intuitive statistics develops early in infancy. Recent work in comparative psychology has produced first evidence for analogous cognitive capacities in great apes who flexibly drew inferences from populations to samples. In the present study, we investigated whether great apes (Pongo abelii, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla) also draw inductive inferences in the opposite direction, from samples to populations. In two experiments, apes saw an experimenter randomly drawing one multi-item sample from each of two populations of food items. The populations differed in their proportion of preferred to neutral items (24:6 vs. 6:24) but apes saw only the distribution of food items in the samples that reflected the distribution of the respective populations (e.g., 4:1 vs. 1:4). Based on this observation they were then allowed to choose between the two populations. Results show that apes seemed to make inferences from samples to populations and thus chose the population from which the more favorable (4:1) sample was drawn in Experiment 1. In this experiment, the more attractive sample not only contained proportionally but also absolutely more preferred food items than the less attractive sample. Experiment 2, however, revealed that when absolute and relative frequencies were disentangled, apes performed at chance level. Whether these limitations in apes' performance reflect true limits of cognitive competence or merely performance limitations due to accessory task demands is still an open question. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The evolution of human and ape hand proportions.

PubMed

Almécija, Sergio; Smaers, Jeroen B; Jungers, William L

2015-07-14

Human hands are distinguished from apes by possessing longer thumbs relative to fingers. However, this simple ape-human dichotomy fails to provide an adequate framework for testing competing hypotheses of human evolution and for reconstructing the morphology of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees. We inspect human and ape hand-length proportions using phylogenetically informed morphometric analyses and test alternative models of evolution along the anthropoid tree of life, including fossils like the plesiomorphic ape Proconsul heseloni and the hominins Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus sediba. Our results reveal high levels of hand disparity among modern hominoids, which are explained by different evolutionary processes: autapomorphic evolution in hylobatids (extreme digital and thumb elongation), convergent adaptation between chimpanzees and orangutans (digital elongation) and comparatively little change in gorillas and hominins. The human (and australopith) high thumb-to-digits ratio required little change since the LCA, and was acquired convergently with other highly dexterous anthropoids.

Miocene small-bodied ape from Eurasia sheds light on hominoid evolution.

PubMed

Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; DeMiguel, Daniel; Fortuny, Josep; Pérez de los Ríos, Miriam; Pina, Marta; Robles, Josep M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2015-10-30

Miocene small-bodied anthropoid primates from Africa and Eurasia are generally considered to precede the divergence between the two groups of extant catarrhines—hominoids (apes and humans) and Old World monkeys—and are thus viewed as more primitive than the stem ape Proconsul. Here we describe Pliobates cataloniae gen. et sp. nov., a small-bodied (4 to 5 kilograms) primate from the Iberian Miocene (11.6 million years ago) that displays a mosaic of primitive characteristics coupled with multiple cranial and postcranial shared derived features of extant hominoids. Our cladistic analyses show that Pliobates is a stem hominoid that is more derived than previously described small catarrhines and Proconsul. This forces us to reevaluate the role played by small-bodied catarrhines in ape evolution and provides key insight into the last common ancestor of hylobatids (gibbons) and hominids (great apes and humans). Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Rational maximizing by humans (Homo sapiens) in an ultimatum game.

PubMed

Smith, Phillip; Silberberg, Alan

2010-07-01

In the human mini-ultimatum game, a proposer splits a sum of money with a responder. If the responder accepts, both are paid. If not, neither is paid. Typically, responders reject inequitable distributions, favoring punishing over maximizing. In Jensen et al.'s (Science 318:107-109, 2007) adaptation with apes, a proposer selects between two distributions of raisins. Despite inequitable offers, responders often accept, thereby maximizing. The rejection response differs between the human and ape versions of this game. For humans, rejection is instantaneous; for apes, it requires 1 min of inaction. We replicate Jensen et al.'s procedure in humans with money. When waiting 1 min to reject, humans favor punishing over maximizing; however, when rejection requires 5 min of inaction, humans, like apes, maximize. If species differences in time horizons are accommodated, Jensen et al.'s ape data are reproducible in humans.

The evolution of human and ape hand proportions

PubMed Central

Almécija, Sergio; Smaers, Jeroen B.; Jungers, William L.

2015-01-01

Human hands are distinguished from apes by possessing longer thumbs relative to fingers. However, this simple ape-human dichotomy fails to provide an adequate framework for testing competing hypotheses of human evolution and for reconstructing the morphology of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees. We inspect human and ape hand-length proportions using phylogenetically informed morphometric analyses and test alternative models of evolution along the anthropoid tree of life, including fossils like the plesiomorphic ape Proconsul heseloni and the hominins Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus sediba. Our results reveal high levels of hand disparity among modern hominoids, which are explained by different evolutionary processes: autapomorphic evolution in hylobatids (extreme digital and thumb elongation), convergent adaptation between chimpanzees and orangutans (digital elongation) and comparatively little change in gorillas and hominins. The human (and australopith) high thumb-to-digits ratio required little change since the LCA, and was acquired convergently with other highly dexterous anthropoids. PMID:26171589

Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects

PubMed Central

Krupenye, Christopher; Rosati, Alexandra G.; Hare, Brian

2015-01-01

Humans exhibit framing effects when making choices, appraising decisions involving losses differently from those involving gains. To directly test for the evolutionary origin of this bias, we examined decision-making in humans' closest living relatives: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented the largest sample of non-humans to date (n = 40) with a simple task requiring minimal experience. Apes made choices between a ‘framed’ option that provided preferred food, and an alternative option that provided a constant amount of intermediately preferred food. In the gain condition, apes experienced a positive ‘gain’ event in which the framed option was initially presented as one piece of food but sometimes was augmented to two. In the loss condition, apes experienced a negative ‘loss' event in which they initially saw two pieces but sometimes received only one. Both conditions provided equal pay-offs, but apes chose the framed option more often in the positive ‘gain’ frame. Moreover, male apes were more susceptible to framing than were females. These results suggest that some human economic biases are shared through common descent with other apes and highlight the importance of comparative work in understanding the origins of individual differences in human choice. PMID:25672997

Anthrax in Western and Central African great apes.

PubMed

Leendertz, Fabian H; Lankester, Felix; Guislain, Patrick; Néel, Cécile; Drori, Ofir; Dupain, Jef; Speede, Sheri; Reed, Patricia; Wolfe, Nathan; Loul, Severin; Mpoudi-Ngole, E; Peeters, Martine; Boesch, Christophe; Pauli, Georg; Ellerbrok, Heinz; Leroy, Eric M

2006-09-01

During the period of December 2004 to January 2005, Bacillus anthracis killed three wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and one gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a tropical forest in Cameroon. While this is the second anthrax outbreak in wild chimpanzees, this is the first case of anthrax in gorillas ever reported. The number of great apes in Central Africa is dramatically declining and the populations are seriously threatened by diseases, mainly Ebola. Nevertheless, a considerable number of deaths cannot be attributed to Ebola virus and remained unexplained. Our results show that diseases other than Ebola may also threaten wild great apes, and indicate that the role of anthrax in great ape mortality may have been underestimated. These results suggest that risk identification, assessment, and management for the survival of the last great apes should be performed with an open mind, since various pathogens with distinct characteristics in epidemiology and pathogenicity may impact the populations. An animal mortality monitoring network covering the entire African tropical forest, with the dual aims of preventing both great ape extinction and human disease outbreaks, will create necessary baseline data for such risk assessments and management plans. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Sensitivity to Relational Similarity and Object Similarity in Apes and Children.

PubMed

Christie, Stella; Gentner, Dedre; Call, Josep; Haun, Daniel Benjamin Moritz

2016-02-22

Relational reasoning is a hallmark of sophisticated cognition in humans. Does it exist in other primates? Despite some affirmative answers, there appears to be a wide gap in relational ability between humans and other primates--even other apes. Here, we test one possible explanation for this gap, motivated by developmental research showing that young humans often fail at relational reasoning tasks because they focus on objects instead of relations. When asked, "duck:duckling is like tiger:?," preschool children choose another duckling (object match) rather than a cub. If other apes share this focus on concrete objects, it could undermine their relational reasoning in similar ways. To test this, we compared great apes and 3-year-old humans' relational reasoning on the same spatial mapping task, with and without competing object matches. Without competing object matches, both children and Pan species (chimpanzees and bonobos) spontaneously used relational similarity, albeit children more so. But when object matches were present, only children responded strongly to them. We conclude that the relational gap is not due to great apes' preference for concrete objects. In fact, young humans show greater object focus than nonhuman apes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Apes produce tools for future use.

PubMed

Bräuer, Juliane; Call, Josep

2015-03-01

There is now growing evidence that some animal species are able to plan for the future. For example great apes save and exchange tools for future use. Here we raise the question whether chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos would produce tools for future use. Subjects only had access to a baited apparatus for a limited duration and therefore should use the time preceding this access to create the appropriate tools in order to get the rewards. The apes were tested in three conditions depending on the need for pre-prepared tools. Either eight tools, one tool or no tools were needed to retrieve the reward. The apes prepared tools in advance for future use and they produced them mainly in conditions when they were really needed. The fact that apes were able to solve this new task indicates that their planning skills are flexible. However, for the condition in which eight tools were needed, apes produced less than two tools per trial in advance. However, they used their chance to produce additional tools in the tool use phase-thus often obtaining most of the reward from the apparatus. Increased pressure to prepare more tools in advance did not have an effect on their performance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The major human AP endonuclease (Ape1) is involved in the nucleotide incision repair pathway

PubMed Central

Gros, Laurent; Ishchenko, Alexander A.; Ide, Hiroshi; Elder, Rhoderick H.; Saparbaev, Murat K.

2004-01-01

In nucleotide incision repair (NIR), an endonuclease nicks oxidatively damaged DNA in a DNA glycosylase-independent manner, providing the correct ends for DNA synthesis coupled to the repair of the remaining 5′-dangling modified nucleotide. This mechanistic feature is distinct from DNA glycosylase-mediated base excision repair. Here we report that Ape1, the major apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease in human cells, is the damage- specific endonuclease involved in NIR. We show that Ape1 incises DNA containing 5,6-dihydro-2′-deoxyuridine, 5,6-dihydrothymidine, 5-hydroxy-2′-deoxyuridine, alpha-2′-deoxyadenosine and alpha-thymidine adducts, generating 3′-hydroxyl and 5′-phosphate termini. The kinetic constants indicate that Ape1-catalysed NIR activity is highly efficient. The substrate specificity and protein conformation of Ape1 is modulated by MgCl2 concentrations, thus providing conditions under which NIR becomes a major activity in cell-free extracts. While the N-terminal region of Ape1 is not required for AP endonuclease function, we show that it regulates the NIR activity. The physiological relevance of the mammalian NIR pathway is discussed. PMID:14704345

The Effects of Modeled Microgravity on Nucleocytoplasmic Localization of Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonda, Steve; Jackson, E.B.

2004-01-01

Exposure to space radiation and microgravity occurs to humans during space flight. In order to have accurate risk estimations, answering questions to whether increased DNA damage seen during space flight in modified by microgravity are important. Several studies have examined whether intercellular repair of radiation-induced DNA lesions are modified by microgravity. Results from these studies show no modification of the repair processes due to microgravity. However, it is known that in studies not involving radiation that microgravity interferes with normal development. Interestingly, there is no data that attempts to analyze the possible effects of microgravity on the trafficking of DNA repair proteins. In this study, we analyze the effects of modeled microgravity on nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of the human DNA repair enzyme apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1/Ref1) which is involved in base excision repair. We examined nuclear translocation of APE1 using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused to APE1 as a reporter. While APE1 under normal gravity showed normal nuclear localization, APE1 nuclear localization under modeled microgravity was decreased. These results suggest that nucleocytoplasmic translocation of APE1 is modified under modeled microgravity.

Rates and patterns of great ape retrotransposition.

PubMed

Hormozdiari, Fereydoun; Konkel, Miriam K; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Chiatante, Giorgia; Herraez, Irene Hernando; Walker, Jerilyn A; Nelson, Benjamin; Alkan, Can; Sudmant, Peter H; Huddleston, John; Catacchio, Claudia R; Ko, Arthur; Malig, Maika; Baker, Carl; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Ventura, Mario; Batzer, Mark A; Eichler, Evan E

2013-08-13

We analyzed 83 fully sequenced great ape genomes for mobile element insertions, predicting a total of 49,452 fixed and polymorphic Alu and long interspersed element 1 (L1) insertions not present in the human reference assembly and assigning each retrotransposition event to a different time point during great ape evolution. We used these homoplasy-free markers to construct a mobile element insertions-based phylogeny of humans and great apes and demonstrate their differential power to discern ape subspecies and populations. Within this context, we find a good correlation between L1 diversity and single-nucleotide polymorphism heterozygosity (r(2) = 0.65) in contrast to Alu repeats, which show little correlation (r(2) = 0.07). We estimate that the "rate" of Alu retrotransposition has differed by a factor of 15-fold in these lineages. Humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos show the highest rates of Alu accumulation--the latter two since divergence 1.5 Mya. The L1 insertion rate, in contrast, has remained relatively constant, with rates differing by less than a factor of three. We conclude that Alu retrotransposition has been the most variable form of genetic variation during recent human-great ape evolution, with increases and decreases occurring over very short periods of evolutionary time.

Effect of isosecotanapartholide isolated from Artemisia princeps Pampanini on IL‑33 production and STAT‑1 activation in HaCaT keratinocytes.

PubMed

Oh, Chang Taek; Jang, Yu-Jin; Kwon, Tae-Rin; Im, Songi; Kim, Soon Re; Seok, Joon; Kim, Gun-Yong; Kim, Young-Heui; Mun, Seog Kyun; Kim, Beom Joon

2017-05-01

The present study aimed to investigate the anti‑inflammatory effect and mechanism of action of isosecotanapartholide (ISTP), isolated from Artemisia princeps Pampanini extract (APE). The effects of ISTP and APE on the proliferation of human keratinocytes following stimulation by tumor necrosis factor‑α/interferon‑γ were assessed. ISTP and APE downregulated the expression levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription‑1 (STAT‑1), and reduced interleukin‑33 (IL‑33) production. ISTP and APE inhibited the mRNA expression levels of thymus and activation‑regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) in a dose‑dependent manner. Western blot analysis demonstrated that ISTP and APE dose‑dependently inhibited protein expression levels of intercellular adhesion molecule‑1 and phosphorylation of STAT‑1. The results of the present study indicate that ISTP may inhibit TARC/CCL17 production in human epidermal keratinocytes via the STAT‑1 signaling pathway and may be associated with the inhibition of IL‑33 production. The current study indicated that ISTP is an active component in APE and may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders.

Does Sympathy Motivate Prosocial Behaviour in Great Apes?

PubMed Central

Liebal, Katja; Vaish, Amrisha; Haun, Daniel; Tomasello, Michael

2014-01-01

Prosocial behaviours such as helping, comforting, or sharing are central to human social life. Because they emerge early in ontogeny, it has been proposed that humans are prosocial by nature and that from early on empathy and sympathy motivate such behaviours. The emerging question is whether humans share these abilities to feel with and for someone with our closest relatives, the great apes. Although several studies demonstrated that great apes help others, little is known about their underlying motivations. This study addresses this issue and investigates whether four species of great apes (Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) help a conspecific more after observing the conspecific being harmed (a human experimenter steals the conspecific’s food) compared to a condition where no harming occurred. Results showed that in regard to the occurrence of prosocial behaviours, only orangutans, but not the African great apes, help others when help is needed, contrasting prior findings on chimpanzees. However, with the exception of one population of orangutans that helped significantly more after a conspecific was harmed than when no harm occurred, prosocial behaviour in great apes was not motivated by concern for others. PMID:24416212

Detailed comparative anatomy of the extrinsic cardiac nerve plexus and postnatal reorganization of the cardiac position and innervation in the great apes: orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees.

PubMed

Kawashima, Tomokazu; Sato, Fumi

2012-03-01

To speculate how the extrinsic cardiac nerve plexus (ECNP) evolves phyletically and ontogenetically within the primate lineage, we conducted a comparative anatomical study of the ECNP, including an imaging examination in the great apes using 20 sides from 11 bodies from three species and a range of postnatal stages from newborns to mature adults. Although the position of the middle cervical ganglion (MG) in the great apes tended to be relatively lower than that in humans, the morphology of the ECNP in adult great apes was almost consistent with that in adult humans but essentially different from that in the lesser apes or gibbons. Therefore, the well-argued anatomical question of when did the MG acquire communicating branches with the spinal cervical nerves and appear constantly in all sympathetic cardiac nerves during primate evolution is clearly considered to be after the great apes and gibbons split. Moreover, a horizontal four-chambered heart and a lifted cardiac apex with a relatively large volume in newborn great apes rapidly changed its position downward, as seen in humans during postnatal growth and was associated with a reduction in the hepatic volume by imaging diagnosis and gross anatomy. In addition, our observation using a range of postnatal stages exhibits that two sympathetic ganglia, the middle cervical and cervicothoracic ganglia, differed between the early and later postnatal stages. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Linear enamel hypoplasia in the great apes: analysis by genus and locality.

PubMed

Hannibal, Darcy Lee; Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie

2005-05-01

Most studies report a high prevalence of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in the great apes relative to other nonhuman primates and some human populations. It is unclear if this difference is a direct result of poor health status for the great apes, or if it represents differential incidence due to a lower threshold (sensu Goodman and Rose, 1990 Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. [suppl.] 33:59-110) for the occurrence of enamel hypoplasia among great apes. This study uses the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's great ape collection to examine the prevalence of LEH, the most common type of hypoplasia observed. Frequencies of LEH are reported, as well as analyses by taxa and provenience. The study sample consists of 136 specimens and includes 41 gorillas, 25 chimpanzees, and 70 orangutans. Analyses of frequencies are presented for both individuals and teeth by taxonomic category and locality. Among the individuals in this study, 63.97% are affected by LEH. Overall, gorillas (29.27%) exhibit lower frequencies of LEH than chimpanzees (68.00%) and orangutans (82.86%). There is a marked difference in LEH frequencies between mountain and lowland gorillas. There is no difference in LEH frequencies between Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. A range of variation for the great apes in enamel hypoplasia frequencies is found when taxon and locality are considered. It is likely that both biological and environmental factors influence the high frequencies of enamel hypoplasia exhibited in the great apes. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Human-animal relationships in zoo-housed orangutans (P. abelii) and gorillas (G. g. gorilla): the effects of familiarity.

PubMed

Smith, Joshua J

2014-10-01

I examined human-animal relationships (HARs) in zoo-housed orangutans (Pongo abelii) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to see if they followed patterns similar to conspecific relationships in great apes and humans. Familiarity and social relationships guide humans' and great apes' behaviors with conspecifics. Inter-individual relationships, based on shared social history, and "generalized" relationships, based on a history of interactions with relevant classes of individuals, guide behavior with familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics, respectively. I examined whether both familiarity and social relationships similarly guides great apes' cross-species interactions with humans. I used repeated measures MANOVA to compare hourly rates and average durations of ape-initiated human-directed behaviors (HDBs) between familiar and unfamiliar humans and between great ape species. HDB patterns were consistent with familiarity-based HAR predictions, indicating more negative relationships with unfamiliar humans and more positive relationships with familiar humans. Findings for unfamiliar humans are consistent with negative effects of humans on apes' behavior reported in traditional visitor effect studies (VES). However, findings for familiar humans may be overlooked in VES due to pooling across levels of human familiarity or failure to consider humans other than primarily unfamiliar visitors. Additionally, species differences in apes' HDBs suggest that data pooling across species, common in many zoo studies, may mask important differences. These findings have important methodological implications for studies of human-animal interaction as well as for captive animal wellbeing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Preliminary Outcome of Individualized Abdominoperineal Excision for Locally Advanced Low Rectal Cancer.

PubMed

Zheng, Yi; Han, Jia-Gang; Wang, Zhen-Jun; Gao, Zhi-Gang; Wei, Guang-Hui; Zhai, Zhi-Wei; Zhao, Bao-Cheng

2018-06-05

The introduction of individualized abdominoperineal excision (APE) may minimize operative trauma and reduce the rate of complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of individualized APE for low rectal cancer. Fifty-six patients who underwent individualized APE from June 2011 to June 2015 were evaluated retrospectively in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University. The main outcome measures were circumferential resection margin (CRM) involvement, intraoperative perforation, postoperative complications, and local recurrence. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16.0. Fifty (89%) patients received preoperative chemoradiotherapy: 51 (91%) patients were treated with the sacrococcyx preserved; 27 (48%) patients with the levator ani muscle partially preserved bilaterally; 20 (36%) patients with the levator ani muscle partially preserved unilaterally and the muscle on the opposite side totally preserved; 7 (13%) patients with intact levator ani muscle and part of the ischioanal fat bilaterally dissected; and 2 (4%) patients with part of the ischioanal fat and intact lavator ani muscle dissected unilaterally and the muscle on the opposite side partially preserved. The most common complications included sexual dysfunction (12%), perineal wound complications (13%), urinary retention (7%), and chronic perineal pain (5%). A positive CRM was demonstrated in 3 (5%) patients, and intraoperative perforations occurred in 2 (4%) patients. On multiple logistic regression analysis, longer operative time (P = 0.032) and more intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.006) were significantly associated with perineal procedure-related complications. The local recurrence was 4% at a median follow-up of 53 months (range: 30-74 months). With preoperative chemoradiotherapy, individualized APE may be a relatively safe and feasible approach for low rectal cancer with acceptable oncological outcomes.

The influence of approach-avoidance motivational orientation on conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Hengstler, Maikel; Holland, Rob W; van Steenbergen, Henk; van Knippenberg, Ad

2014-06-01

To deal effectively with a continuously changing environment, our cognitive system adaptively regulates resource allocation. Earlier findings showed that an avoidance orientation (induced by arm extension), relative to an approach orientation (induced by arm flexion), enhanced sustained cognitive control. In avoidance conditions, performance on a cognitive control task was enhanced, as indicated by a reduced congruency effect, relative to approach conditions. Extending these findings, in the present behavioral studies we investigated dynamic adaptations in cognitive control-that is, conflict adaptation. We proposed that an avoidance state recruits more resources in response to conflicting signals, and thereby increases conflict adaptation. Conversely, in an approach state, conflict processing diminishes, which consequently weakens conflict adaptation. As predicted, approach versus avoidance arm movements affected both behavioral congruency effects and conflict adaptation: As compared to approach, avoidance movements elicited reduced congruency effects and increased conflict adaptation. These results are discussed in line with a possible underlying neuropsychological model.

Intuitions about Gravity and Solidity in Great Apes: The Tubes Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cacchione, Trix; Call, Josep

2010-01-01

We investigated whether great apes, like human infants, monkeys and dogs, are subject to a strong gravity bias when tested with the tubes task, and--in case of mastery--what the source of competence on the tubes task is. We presented 22 apes with three versions of the tubes task, in which an object is dropped down a tube connected to one of three…

Wannabe U: Inside the Corporate University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuchman, Gaye

2009-01-01

Based on years of observation at a large state university, "Wannabe U" tracks the dispiriting consequences of trading in traditional educational values for loyalty to the market. Aping their boardroom idols, the new corporate administrators at such universities wander from job to job and reductively view the students there as future workers in…

In search of the last common ancestor: new findings on wild chimpanzees

PubMed Central

McGrew, W. C.

2010-01-01

Modelling the behaviour of extinct hominins is essential in order to devise useful hypotheses of our species' evolutionary origins for testing in the palaeontological and archaeological records. One approach is to model the last common ancestor (LCA) of living apes and humans, based on current ethological and ecological knowledge of our closest living relations. Such referential modelling is based on rigorous, ongoing field studies of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus). This paper reviews recent findings from nature, focusing on those with direct implications for hominin evolution, e.g. apes, using elementary technology to access basic resources such as food and water, or sheltering in caves or bathing as thermoregulatory adaptations. I give preference to studies that directly address key issues, such as whether stone artefacts are detectible before the Oldowan, based on the percussive technology of hammer and anvil use by living apes. Detailed comparative studies of chimpanzees living in varied habitats, from rainforest to savannah, reveal that some behavioural patterns are universal (e.g. shelter construction), while others show marked (e.g. extractive foraging) or nuanced (e.g. courtship) cross-populational variation. These findings allow us to distinguish between retained, primitive traits of the LCA versus derived ones in the human lineage. PMID:20855301

Conformational dynamics of abasic DNA upon interactions with AP endonuclease 1 revealed by stopped-flow fluorescence analysis.

PubMed

Kanazhevskaya, Lyubov Yu; Koval, Vladimir V; Vorobjev, Yury N; Fedorova, Olga S

2012-02-14

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites are abundant DNA lesions arising from exposure to UV light, ionizing radiation, alkylating agents, and oxygen radicals. In human cells, AP endonuclease 1 (APE1) recognizes this mutagenic lesion and initiates its repair via a specific incision of the phosphodiester backbone 5' to the AP site. We have investigated a detailed mechanism of APE1 functioning using fluorescently labeled DNA substrates. A fluorescent adenine analogue, 2-aminopurine, was introduced into DNA substrates adjacent to the abasic site to serve as an on-site reporter of conformational transitions in DNA during the catalytic cycle. Application of a pre-steady-state stopped-flow technique allows us to observe changes in the fluorescence intensity corresponding to different stages of the process in real time. We also detected an intrinsic Trp fluorescence of the enzyme during interactions with 2-aPu-containing substrates. Our data have revealed a conformational flexibility of the abasic DNA being processed by APE1. Quantitative analysis of fluorescent traces has yielded a minimal kinetic scheme and appropriate rate constants consisting of four steps. The results obtained from stopped-flow data have shown a substantial influence of the 2-aPu base location on completion of certain reaction steps. Using detailed molecular dynamics simulations of the DNA substrates, we have attributed structural distortions of AP-DNA to realization of specific binding, effective locking, and incision of the damaged DNA. The findings allowed us to accurately discern the step that corresponds to insertion of specific APE1 amino acid residues into the abasic DNA void in the course of stabilization of the precatalytic complex.

Changing trends in the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in a rural district of India: Systematic observations over a decade

PubMed Central

Khanna, Rohit C; Marmamula, Srinivas; Krishnaiah, Sannapaneni; Giridhar, Pyda; Chakrabarti, Subhabrata; Rao, Gullapalli N

2012-01-01

Context: Globally, limited data are available on changing trends of blindness from a single region. Aims: To report the changing trends in the prevalence of blindness, visual impairment (VI), and visual outcomes of cataract surgery in a rural district of Andhra Pradesh, India, over period of one decade. Settings and Design: Rural setting; cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: Using a validated Rapid Assessment of Cataract Surgical Services (RACSS) method, population-based, cross-sectional survey was done in a rural district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Two-stage sampling procedure was used to select participants ≥50 years of age. Further, a comparative analysis was done with participants ≥50 years from the previously concluded Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) study, who belonged to the same district. Statistical Analysis: Done using 11th version of Stata. Results: Using RACSS, 2160/2300 (93.9%) participants were examined as compared with the APEDS dataset (n=521). Age and sex adjusted prevalence of blindness in RACSS and APEDS was 8% (95% CI, 6.9–9.1%) and 11% (95% CI, 8.3–13.7%), while that of VI was 13.6% (95% CI, 12.2–15.1%) and 40.3% (95% CI, 36.1–44.5%), respectively. Cataract was the major cause of blindness in both the studies. There was a significant reduction in blindness following cataract surgery as observed through RACSS (17.3%; 95% CI, 13.5–21.8%) compared with APEDS (34%; 95% CI, 20.9–49.3%). Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in prevalence of blindness and VI in this rural district of India over a decade. PMID:22944766

Changing trends in the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in a rural district of India: systematic observations over a decade.

PubMed

Khanna, Rohit C; Marmamula, Srinivas; Krishnaiah, Sannapaneni; Giridhar, Pyda; Chakrabarti, Subhabrata; Rao, Gullapalli N

2012-01-01

Context : Globally, limited data are available on changing trends of blindness from a single region. Aims : To report the changing trends in the prevalence of blindness, visual impairment (VI), and visual outcomes of cataract surgery in a rural district of Andhra Pradesh, India, over period of one decade. Settings and Design : Rural setting; cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods : Using a validated Rapid Assessment of Cataract Surgical Services (RACSS) method, population-based, cross-sectional survey was done in a rural district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Two-stage sampling procedure was used to select participants ≥50 years of age. Further, a comparative analysis was done with participants ≥50 years from the previously concluded Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) study, who belonged to the same district. Statistical Analysis : Done using 11 th version of Stata. Results : Using RACSS, 2160/2300 (93.9%) participants were examined as compared with the APEDS dataset (n=521). Age and sex adjusted prevalence of blindness in RACSS and APEDS was 8% (95% CI, 6.9-9.1%) and 11% (95% CI, 8.3-13.7%), while that of VI was 13.6% (95% CI, 12.2-15.1%) and 40.3% (95% CI, 36.1-44.5%), respectively. Cataract was the major cause of blindness in both the studies. There was a significant reduction in blindness following cataract surgery as observed through RACSS (17.3%; 95% CI, 13.5-21.8%) compared with APEDS (34%; 95% CI, 20.9-49.3%). Conclusion : There was a significant reduction in prevalence of blindness and VI in this rural district of India over a decade.

Back-barrier and seabed sediment dynamics in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system, North Carolina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walsh, J. P.; Corbett, D. R.

2016-02-01

Estuaries are critical habitats as well as places where people live, recreate, and make their livelihood. Additionally, they are sites where land and sea interact, and sediments, and associated pollutants and carbon, are deposited, remobilized and accumulated. Many processes, such as river discharge, waves, tides, and sea-level rise, are operating in estuaries to cause sediment dynamics, impacting humans and organisms as a result. Recent research we have been engaged in across the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES) has investigated the sediments dynamics of this important estuary. The APES is the second largest estuary in the continental United States, consisting of the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds and the Pamlico River and Neuse River sub-estuaries. Although expansive in size, the system is shallow with minimal tidal range. Water and sediment discharge into the APES is modest, and the existence of few inlets along the Outer Banks limits mixing with the Atlantic Ocean. Human impact on the drainage basin and estuarine system is moderate and increasing over time. Over the last five years, a considerable volume of sedimentary process data has been collected over various timescales and locations in the APES. More specifically, work has included: deployments of instrumented tripods to examine seabed dynamics; collection and analysis of shallow cores and GIS investigation of aerial photographs and other data. This wealth of data highlights several insights: 1) shorelines are generally eroding ( 0.25 m/y and rapidly >3 m/y in places), but rates are temporally and spatially variable; 2) seabed resuspension is frequent, yet net accumulation of 2-4 mm/y is widespread in deeper locations; and 3) storms cause episodic, localized impacts (e.g., barrier breaches) on this large, shallow estuarine system.

Artemisia princeps extract promoted glucose uptake in cultured L6 muscle cells via glucose transporter 4 translocation.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Norio; Ueda, Manabu; Kawabata, Kyuichi; Sato, Takuya; Kawasaki, Kengo; Hashimoto, Takashi; Ashida, Hitoshi

2010-01-01

Artemisia princeps is a familiar plant as a food substance and medicinal herb. In this study, we evaluated the effects of an ethanol extract of A. princeps (APE) on glucose uptake in differentiated L6 muscle cells. Treatment with APE elevated deoxyglucose uptake, and translocation of the insulin-responsive glucose transporter (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane in L6 myotubes occurred. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 attenuated glucose uptake induced by APE. Phosphorylation of the Ser(473) residue of Akt was not observed, but phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt (Thr(308)), and atypical PKC was. In addition, APE stimulated phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) at a level similar to 5'-amino-5-imidazolecarboxamide-riboside (AICAR). These results indicate that APE stimulates glucose uptake by inducing GLUT4 translocation, which is in part mediated by combination of the PI3K-dependent atypical PKC pathway and AMPK pathways.

Tracking the displacement of objects: a series of tasks with great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla, and Pongo pygmaeus) and young children (Homo sapiens).

PubMed

Barth, Jochen; Call, Josep

2006-07-01

The authors administered a series of object displacement tasks to 24 great apes and 24 30-month-old children (Homo sapiens). Objects were placed under 1 or 2 of 3 cups by visible or invisible displacements. The series included 6 tasks: delayed response, inhibition test, A not B, rotations, transpositions, and object permanence. Apes and children solved most tasks performing at comparable levels except in the transposition task, in which apes performed better than children. Ape species performed at comparable levels in all tasks except in single transpositions, in which chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) performed better than gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and orangutans (Pongo pygmeaus). All species found nonadjacent trials and rotations especially difficult. The number of elements that changed locations, the type of displacement, and having to inhibit predominant reaching responses were factors that negatively affected the subjects' performance.

Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects.

PubMed

Krupenye, Christopher; Rosati, Alexandra G; Hare, Brian

2015-02-01

Humans exhibit framing effects when making choices, appraising decisions involving losses differently from those involving gains. To directly test for the evolutionary origin of this bias, we examined decision-making in humans' closest living relatives: bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We presented the largest sample of non-humans to date (n = 40) with a simple task requiring minimal experience. Apes made choices between a 'framed' option that provided preferred food, and an alternative option that provided a constant amount of intermediately preferred food. In the gain condition, apes experienced a positive 'gain' event in which the framed option was initially presented as one piece of food but sometimes was augmented to two. In the loss condition, apes experienced a negative 'loss' event in which they initially saw two pieces but sometimes received only one. Both conditions provided equal pay-offs, but apes chose the framed option more often in the positive 'gain' frame. Moreover, male apes were more susceptible to framing than were females. These results suggest that some human economic biases are shared through common descent with other apes and highlight the importance of comparative work in understanding the origins of individual differences in human choice. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interaction of Andrographolide and Standardized Extract of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) with Nabumetone in Wistar Rats.

PubMed

Balap, Aishwarya; Lohidasan, Sathiyanarayanan; Sinnathambi, Arulmozhi; Mahadik, Kakasaheb

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the herb-drug interaction of Andrographis paniculata Nees (Acanthaceae) and Andrographolide (AN) with nabumetone (NAB) in wistar rats. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions were studied after co-administration of APE and AN with NAB in Wistar rats. In pharmacokinetic studies, significant decrease in Cmax, AUC 0-t and AUC 0-∞ of 6-MNA after co-administration with pure AN and APE has been observed. T max of 6-MNA has been increased to 2 h from 1.5 h in AN + NAB treated group. Changes in mean residential time, clearance and volume of distribution of 6-MNA in APE + NAB treated group and AN + NAB treated group indicated interference of other components of APE other than AN. In pharmacodynamic study, significant decrease in antiarthritic activity of NAB on concomitant administration with APE and AN has been observed. The study concludes that NAB exhibits pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions with APE and AN in rats thus alarms the concomitant use of herbal preparations containing APE and AN with NAB. Further study is needed to understand the mechanism and predict the herb-drug interaction in humans. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rates and patterns of great ape retrotransposition

PubMed Central

Hormozdiari, Fereydoun; Konkel, Miriam K.; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Chiatante, Giorgia; Herraez, Irene Hernando; Walker, Jerilyn A.; Nelson, Benjamin; Alkan, Can; Sudmant, Peter H.; Huddleston, John; Catacchio, Claudia R.; Ko, Arthur; Malig, Maika; Baker, Carl; Genome Project, Great Ape; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Ventura, Mario; Batzer, Mark A.; Eichler, Evan E.

2013-01-01

We analyzed 83 fully sequenced great ape genomes for mobile element insertions, predicting a total of 49,452 fixed and polymorphic Alu and long interspersed element 1 (L1) insertions not present in the human reference assembly and assigning each retrotransposition event to a different time point during great ape evolution. We used these homoplasy-free markers to construct a mobile element insertions-based phylogeny of humans and great apes and demonstrate their differential power to discern ape subspecies and populations. Within this context, we find a good correlation between L1 diversity and single-nucleotide polymorphism heterozygosity (r2 = 0.65) in contrast to Alu repeats, which show little correlation (r2 = 0.07). We estimate that the “rate” of Alu retrotransposition has differed by a factor of 15-fold in these lineages. Humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos show the highest rates of Alu accumulation—the latter two since divergence 1.5 Mya. The L1 insertion rate, in contrast, has remained relatively constant, with rates differing by less than a factor of three. We conclude that Alu retrotransposition has been the most variable form of genetic variation during recent human–great ape evolution, with increases and decreases occurring over very short periods of evolutionary time. PMID:23884656

Anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects of ethanol extract of Artemisia princeps in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Norio; Kanemoto, Yuki; Ueda, Manabu; Kawasaki, Kengo; Fukuda, Itsuko; Ashida, Hitoshi

2011-01-01

Artemisia princeps is commonly used as a food ingredient and in traditional Asian medicine. In this study, we examined the effects of long-term administration of an ethanol extract of A. princeps (APE) on body weight, white adipose tissue, blood glucose, insulin, plasma and hepatic lipids, and adipocytokines in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet. Daily feeding of a 1% APE diet for 14 weeks normalized elevated body weight, white adipose tissue, and plasma glucose and insulin levels, and delayed impaired glucose tolerance in mice a fed high-fat diet. These events were not observed in mice fed a control diet containing 1% APE. Liver triglyceride and cholesterol levels were similar in mice fed a 1% APE-diet and those fed a control diet. In the high-fat diet groups, APE inhibited hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) and suppressed the elevation of plasma leptin, but had no effect on adiponectin levels. These findings suggest that the regulation of leptin secretion by APE may inhibit FAS activity with subsequent suppression of triglyceride accumulation in the liver and adipose tissues. Inhibition of lipid accumulation can, in turn, lead to improvements in impaired glucose tolerance.

Performance-enhancing drugs on the web: a growing public-health issue.

PubMed

Brennan, Brian P; Kanayama, Gen; Pope, Harrison G

2013-01-01

Today's Internet provides extensive "underground" guidelines for obtaining and using illicit substances, including especially anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and other appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs). We attempted to qualitatively characterize APED-related Internet sites. We used relevant Internet search terms (eg, "steroids bodybuilding" and "buy steroids online") to assess (i) the numbers of site visitors; (ii) offers of drugs for sale; and (iii) the quality of online medical information. We also chose the examples of (iv) "site-enhancing oils" and (v) "cattle implants" to illustrate the volume of available Internet information as compared with that in the medical literature. We found thousands of sites involving AAS and other APEDs. Most sites presented an unabashedly pro-drug position, often openly questioning the qualifications and motivations of mainstream medical practitioners. Offers of AAS and other APEDs for sale, together with medical advice of varying legitimacy, was widespread across sites. Importantly, many sites provided detailed guidelines for exotic forms of APED use, some likely associated with serious health risks, which are probably unknown to most practicing clinicians. It seems important for practitioners to be aware of the extent of this "underground literature," which may strongly influence their patients' decisions about use and abuse of APEDs. Copyright © American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

Tunneling Splittings in Vibronic Structure of CH_3F^+ ( X^2E): Studied by High Resolution Photoelectron Spectra and AB Initio Theoretical Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Yuxiang; Gao, Shuming; Dai, Zuyang; Li, Hua

2013-06-01

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the vibronic structure of CH_3F^+. The results show that the tunneling splittings of vibrational energy levels occur in CH_3F^+ due to the Jahn-Teller effect. Experimentally, we have measured a high resolution ZEKE spectrum of CH_3F up to 3500 cm^-^1 above the ground state. Theoretically, we performed an ab initio calculation based on the diabatic model. The adiabatic potential energy surfaces (APES) of CH_3F^+ have been calculated at the MRCI/CAS/avq(t)z level and expressed by Taylor expansions with normal coordinates as variables. The energy gradients for the lower and upper APES, the derivative couplings between them and also the energies of the APES have been used to determine the coefficients in the Taylor expansion. The spin-vibronic energy levels have been calculated by accounting all six vibrational modes and their couplings. The experimental ZEKE spectra were assigned based on the theoretical calculations. W. Domcke, D. R. Yarkony, and H. Köpple (Eds.), Conical Intersections: Eletronic Structure, Dynamics and Spectroscopy (World Scientific, Singapore, 2004). M. S. Schuurman, D. E. Weinberg, and D. R. Yarkony, J. Chem. Phys. 127, 104309 (2007).

Consequences of non-intervention for infectious disease in African great apes.

PubMed

Ryan, Sadie J; Walsh, Peter D

2011-01-01

Infectious disease has recently joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to African apes. Both "naturally" occurring pathogens, such as Ebola and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), and respiratory pathogens transmitted from humans, have been confirmed as important sources of mortality in wild gorillas and chimpanzees. While awareness of the threat has increased, interventions such as vaccination and treatment remain controversial. Here we explore both the risk of disease to African apes, and the status of potential responses. Through synthesis of published data, we summarize prior disease impact on African apes. We then use a simple demographic model to illustrate the resilience of a well-known gorilla population to disease, modeled on prior documented outbreaks. We found that the predicted recovery time for this specific gorilla population from a single outbreak ranged from 5 years for a low mortality (4%) respiratory outbreak, to 131 years for an Ebola outbreak that killed 96% of the population. This shows that mortality rates comparable to those recently reported for disease outbreaks in wild populations are not sustainable. This is particularly troubling given the rising pathogen risk created by increasing habituation of wild apes for tourism, and the growth of human populations surrounding protected areas. We assess potential future disease spillover risk in terms of vaccination rates amongst humans that may come into contact with wild apes, and the availability of vaccines against potentially threatening diseases. We discuss and evaluate non-interventionist responses such as limiting tourist access to apes, community health programs, and safety, logistic, and cost issues that constrain the potential of vaccination. © 2011 Ryan and Walsh.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 regulates angiogenesis in a transforming growth factor β-dependent manner in human osteosarcoma.

PubMed

Jiang, Xuan; Shan, Jinlu; Dai, Nan; Zhong, Zhaoyang; Qing, Yi; Yang, Yuxing; Zhang, Shiheng; Li, Chongyi; Sui, Jiangdong; Ren, Tao; Li, Mengxia; Wang, Dong

2015-10-01

Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis and has been reported to be inversely correlated with overall survival of osteosarcoma patients. It has been shown that apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), a dually functional protein possessing both base excision repair and redox activities, is involved in tumor angiogenesis, although these mechanisms are not fully understood. Our previous study showed that the expression of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) was significantly reduced in APE1-deficient osteosarcoma cells. Transforming growth factor β promotes cancer metastasis through various mechanisms including immunosuppression, angiogenesis, and invasion. In the current study, we initially revealed that APE1, TGFβ, and microvessel density (MVD) have pairwise correlation in osteosarcoma tissue samples, whereas TGFβ, tumor size, and MVD were inversely related to the prognosis of the cohort. We found that knocking down APE1 in osteosarcoma cells resulted in TGFβ downregulation. In addition, APE1-siRNA led to suppression of angiogenesis in vitro based on HUVECs in Transwell and Matrigel tube formation assays. Reduced secretory protein level of TGFβ of culture medium also resulted in decreased phosphorylation of Smad3 of HUVECs. In a mouse xenograft model, siRNA-mediated silencing of APE1 downregulated TGFβ expression, tumor size, and MVD. Collectively, the current evidence indicates that APE1 regulates angiogenesis in osteosarcoma by controlling the TGFβ pathway, suggesting a novel target for anti-angiogenesis therapy in human osteosarcoma. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Science published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.

Great apes and children infer causal relations from patterns of variation and covariation.

PubMed

Völter, Christoph J; Sentís, Inés; Call, Josep

2016-10-01

We investigated whether nonhuman great apes (N=23), 2.5-year-old (N=20), and 3-year-old children (N=40) infer causal relations from patterns of variation and covariation by adapting the blicket detector paradigm for apes. We presented chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus), orangutans (Pongo abelii), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and children (Homo sapiens) with a novel reward dispenser, the blicket detector. The detector was activated by inserting specific (yet randomly determined) objects, the so-called blickets. Once activated a reward was released, accompanied by lights and a short tone. Participants were shown different patterns of variation and covariation between two different objects and the activation of the detector. When subsequently choosing between one of the two objects to activate the detector on their own all species, except gorillas (who failed the training), took these patterns of correlation into account. In particular, apes and 2.5-year-old children ignored objects whose effect on the detector completely depended on the presence of another object. Follow-up experiments explored whether the apes and children were also able to re-evaluate evidence retrospectively. Only children (3-year-olds in particular) were able to make such retrospective inferences about causal structures from observing the effects of the experimenter's actions. Apes succeeded here only when they observed the effects of their own interventions. Together, this study provides evidence that apes, like young children, accurately infer causal structures from patterns of (co)variation and that they use this information to inform their own interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consequences of Non-Intervention for Infectious Disease in African Great Apes

PubMed Central

Ryan, Sadie J.; Walsh, Peter D.

2011-01-01

Infectious disease has recently joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to African apes. Both “naturally” occurring pathogens, such as Ebola and Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), and respiratory pathogens transmitted from humans, have been confirmed as important sources of mortality in wild gorillas and chimpanzees. While awareness of the threat has increased, interventions such as vaccination and treatment remain controversial. Here we explore both the risk of disease to African apes, and the status of potential responses. Through synthesis of published data, we summarize prior disease impact on African apes. We then use a simple demographic model to illustrate the resilience of a well-known gorilla population to disease, modeled on prior documented outbreaks. We found that the predicted recovery time for this specific gorilla population from a single outbreak ranged from 5 years for a low mortality (4%) respiratory outbreak, to 131 years for an Ebola outbreak that killed 96% of the population. This shows that mortality rates comparable to those recently reported for disease outbreaks in wild populations are not sustainable. This is particularly troubling given the rising pathogen risk created by increasing habituation of wild apes for tourism, and the growth of human populations surrounding protected areas. We assess potential future disease spillover risk in terms of vaccination rates amongst humans that may come into contact with wild apes, and the availability of vaccines against potentially threatening diseases. We discuss and evaluate non-interventionist responses such as limiting tourist access to apes, community health programs, and safety, logistic, and cost issues that constrain the potential of vaccination. PMID:22216162

Nucleolar accumulation of APE1 depends on charged lysine residues that undergo acetylation upon genotoxic stress and modulate its BER activity in cells

PubMed Central

Lirussi, Lisa; Antoniali, Giulia; Vascotto, Carlo; D'Ambrosio, Chiara; Poletto, Mattia; Romanello, Milena; Marasco, Daniela; Leone, Marilisa; Quadrifoglio, Franco; Bhakat, Kishor K.; Scaloni, Andrea; Tell, Gianluca

2012-01-01

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is the main abasic endonuclease in the base excision repair (BER) pathway of DNA lesions caused by oxidation/alkylation in mammalian cells; within nucleoli it interacts with nucleophosmin and rRNA through N-terminal Lys residues, some of which (K27/K31/K32/K35) may undergo acetylation in vivo. Here we study the functional role of these modifications during genotoxic damage and their in vivo relevance. We demonstrate that cells expressing a specific K-to-A multiple mutant are APE1 nucleolar deficient and are more resistant to genotoxic treatment than those expressing the wild type, although they show impaired proliferation. Of interest, we find that genotoxic treatment induces acetylation at these K residues. We also find that the charged status of K27/K31/K32/K35 modulates acetylation at K6/K7 residues that are known to be involved in the coordination of BER activity through a mechanism regulated by the sirtuin 1 deacetylase. Of note, structural studies show that acetylation at K27/K31/K32/K35 may account for local conformational changes on APE1 protein structure. These results highlight the emerging role of acetylation of critical Lys residues in regulating APE1 functions. They also suggest the existence of cross-talk between different Lys residues of APE1 occurring upon genotoxic damage, which may modulate APE1 subnuclear distribution and enzymatic activity in vivo. PMID:22918947

Meta-analysis of environmental contamination by alkylphenols.

PubMed

Bergé, Alexandre; Cladière, Mathieu; Gasperi, Johnny; Coursimault, Annie; Tassin, Bruno; Moilleron, Régis

2012-11-01

Alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE) are toxics classified as endocrine-disrupting compounds; they are used in detergents, paints, herbicides, pesticides, emulsifiers, wetting and dispersing agents, antistatic agents, demulsifiers, and solubilizers. Many studies have reported the occurrence of alkylphenols in different environmental matrices, though none of these studies have yet to establish a comprehensive overview of such compounds in the water cycle within an urban environment. This review summarizes APE concentrations for all environmental media throughout the water cycle, from the atmosphere to receiving waters. Once the occurrence of compounds has been assessed for each environmental compartment (urban wastewater, wastewater treatment plants [WWTP], atmosphere, and the natural environment), data are examined in order to understand the fate of APE in the environment and establish their geographical and historical trends. From this database, it is clear that the environment in Europe is much more contaminated by APE compared to North America and developing countries, although these APE levels have been decreasing in the last decade. APE concentrations in the WWTP effluent of developed countries have decreased by a factor of 100 over the past 30 years. This study is aimed at identifying both the correlations existing between environmental compartments and the processes that influence the fate and transport of these contaminants in the environment. In industrial countries, the concentrations observed in waterways now represent the background level of contamination, which provides evidence of a past diffuse pollution in these countries, whereas sediment analyses conducted in developing countries show an increase in APE content over the last several years. Finally, similar trends have been observed in samples drawn from Europe and North America.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic herb-drug interaction of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) extract and andrographolide with etoricoxib after oral administration in rats.

PubMed

Balap, Aishwarya; Atre, Bhagyashri; Lohidasan, Sathiyanarayanan; Sinnathambi, Arulmozhi; Mahadik, Kakasaheb

2016-05-13

Andrographis paniculata Nees (Acanthacae) is commonly used medicinal plant in the traditional. Unani and Ayurvedic medicinal systems. It has broad range of pharmacological effects such as hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antivenom, antifertility, inhibition of replication of the HIV virus, antimalarial, antifungal, antibacterial, antidiabetic, suppression of various cancer cells and anti-inflammatory properties. Andrographolide (AN) is one of the active constituent of the A. paniculata Nees extract (APE). They have been found in many traditional herbal formulations in India and proven to be effective as anti-inflammatory drug To evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (anti-arthritic) herb-drug interactions of A. paniculata Nees extract (APE) and pure andrographolide (AN) with etoricoxib (ETO) after oral co-administration in wistar rats. After oral co-administration of APE (200mg/Kg) and AN (60mg/kg) with ETO (10mg/kg) in rats, drug concentrations in plasma were determined using HPLC method. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of Cmax, tmax, t1/2, MRT, Vd, CL, and AUC were calculated by non-compartment model. Change in paw volume, mechanical nociceptive threshold, mechanical hyperalgesia, histopathology and hematological parameters were evaluated to study antiarthritic activity. Co-administration of ETO with APE and pure AN decreased systemic exposure level of each compound in vivo. The Cmax, AUC, t1/2 of ETO was decreased whereas Vd and CL of ETO was increased significantly after co-administration of ETO with pure AN and APE. In pharmacodynamic study, ETO alone and ETO+APE (10+200mg/kg) groups exhibited significant synergistic anti-arthritic activity as compared to groups ETO+AN, APE and AN alone. The results obtained from this study suggested that ETO, APE and pure AN existed pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions in rat which is correlated with anti-arthritic study. Physicians and patients using A. paniculata should have the knowledge about its possible herb-drug interaction with ETO. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Herb-drug interaction of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) extract and andrographolide on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of naproxen in rats.

PubMed

Balap, Aishwarya; Lohidasan, Sathiyanarayanan; Sinnathambi, Arulmozhi; Mahadik, Kakasaheb

2017-01-04

Andrographis paniculata Nees (Acanthacae) have broad range of pharmacological effects such as hepatoprotective, antifertility, antimalarial, antidiabetic, suppression of various cancer cells and anti-inflammatory properties and is widely used medicinal plant in the traditional Unani and Ayurvedic medicinal systems. Andrographolide (AN) is one of the active constituent of the A. paniculata Nees extract (APE). They have been found in many traditional herbal formulations in India and proven to be effective as anti-inflammatory drug. To evaluate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (anti arthritic) herb-drug interactions of A. paniculata Nees extract (APE) and pure andrographolide (AN) with naproxen (NP) after oral co-administration in wistar rats. After oral co-administration of APE (200mg/Kg) and AN (60mg/kg) with NP (7.5mg/kg) in rats, drug concentrations in plasma were determined using HPLC method. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of C max , t max , t 1/2 , MRT, Vd, CL, and AUC were calculated by non-compartment model. Change in paw volume, mechanical nociceptive threshold, mechanical hyperalgesia, histopathology and hematological parameters were evaluated to study antiarthritic activity. Co-administration of NP with APE and pure AN decreased systemic exposure level of NP in vivo. The C max , t max, AUC 0-t of NP was decreased. In pharmacodynamic study, NP (10mg/kg) alone and NP+AN (10+60mg/kg) groups exhibited significant synergistic anti-arthritic activity as compared to groups NP+APE, APE and AN alone. The results obtained from this study suggested that NP, APE and pure AN existed pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions in rat which is correlated with anti-arthritic study. The knowledge regarding possible herb-drug interaction of NP might be helpful for physicians as well as patients using AP. So further studies should be done to understand the effect of other herbal ingredients of APE on NP as well as to predict the herb-drug interaction in humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seasonal Effects on Great Ape Health: A Case Study of Wild Chimpanzees and Western Gorillas

PubMed Central

Masi, Shelly; Chauffour, Sophie; Bain, Odile; Todd, Angelique; Guillot, Jacques; Krief, Sabrina

2012-01-01

Among factors affecting animal health, environmental influences may directly or indirectly impact host nutritional condition, fecundity, and their degree of parasitism. Our closest relatives, the great apes, are all endangered and particularly sensitive to infectious diseases. Both chimpanzees and western gorillas experience large seasonal variations in fruit availability but only western gorillas accordingly show large changes in their degree of frugivory. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare factors affecting health (through records of clinical signs, urine, and faecal samples) of habituated wild ape populations: a community (N = 46 individuals) of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Kanyawara, Kibale National Park (Uganda), and a western gorilla (G. gorilla) group (N = 13) in Bai Hokou in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (Central African Republic). Ape health monitoring was carried out in the wet and dry seasons (chimpanzees: July–December 2006; gorillas: April–July 2008 and December 2008–February 2009). Compared to chimpanzees, western gorillas were shown to have marginally greater parasite diversity, higher prevalence and intensity of both parasite and urine infections, and lower occurrence of diarrhea and wounds. Parasite infections (prevalence and load), but not abnormal urine parameters, were significantly higher during the dry season of the study period for western gorillas, who thus appeared more affected by the large temporal changes in the environment in comparison to chimpanzees. Infant gorillas were the most susceptible among all the age/sex classes (of both apes) having much more intense infections and urine blood concentrations, again during the dry season. Long term studies are needed to confirm the influence of seasonal factors on health and parasitism of these great apes. However, this study suggest climate change and forest fragmentation leading to potentially larger seasonal fluctuations of the environment may affect patterns of ape parasitism and further exacerbate health impacts on great ape populations that live in highly seasonal habitats. PMID:23227152

Evolution of the auditory ossicles in extant hominids: metric variation in African apes and humans.

PubMed

Quam, Rolf M; Coleman, Mark N; Martínez, Ignacio

2014-08-01

The auditory ossicles in primates have proven to be a reliable source of phylogenetic information. Nevertheless, to date, very little data have been published on the metric dimensions of the ear ossicles in African apes and humans. The present study relies on the largest samples of African ape ear ossicles studied to date to address questions of taxonomic differences and the evolutionary transformation of the ossicles in gorillas, chimpanzees and humans. Both African ape taxa show a malleus that is characterized by a long and slender manubrium and relatively short corpus, whereas humans show the opposite constellation of a short and thick manubrium and relatively long corpus. These changes in the manubrium are plausibly linked with changes in the size of the tympanic membrane. The main difference between the incus in African apes and humans seems to be related to changes in the functional length. Compared with chimpanzees, human incudes are larger in nearly all dimensions, except articular facet height, and show a more open angle between the axes. The gorilla incus resembles humans more closely in its metric dimensions, including functional length, perhaps as a result of the dramatically larger body size compared with chimpanzees. The differences between the stapedes of humans and African apes are primarily size-related, with humans being larger in nearly all dimensions. Nevertheless, some distinctions between the African apes were found in the obturator foramen and head height. Although correlations between metric variables in different ossicles were generally lower than those between variables in the same bone, variables of the malleus/incus complex appear to be more strongly correlated than those of the incus/stapes complex, perhaps reflecting the different embryological and evolutionary origins of the ossicles. The middle ear lever ratio for the African apes is similar to other haplorhines, but humans show the lowest lever ratio within primates. Very low levels of sexual dimorphism were found in the ossicles within each taxon, but some relationship with body size and several dimensions of the ear bones was found. Several of the metric distinctions in the incus and stapes imply a slightly different articulation of the ossicular chain within the tympanic cavity in African apes compared with humans. The limited auditory implications of these metric differences in the ossicles are also discussed. Finally, the results of this study suggest that several plesiomorphic features for apes may be retained in the ear bones of the early hominin taxa Australopithecus and Paranthropus as well as in the Neandertals. © 2014 Anatomical Society.

Evolution of the auditory ossicles in extant hominids: metric variation in African apes and humans

PubMed Central

Quam, Rolf M; Coleman, Mark N; Martínez, Ignacio

2014-01-01

The auditory ossicles in primates have proven to be a reliable source of phylogenetic information. Nevertheless, to date, very little data have been published on the metric dimensions of the ear ossicles in African apes and humans. The present study relies on the largest samples of African ape ear ossicles studied to date to address questions of taxonomic differences and the evolutionary transformation of the ossicles in gorillas, chimpanzees and humans. Both African ape taxa show a malleus that is characterized by a long and slender manubrium and relatively short corpus, whereas humans show the opposite constellation of a short and thick manubrium and relatively long corpus. These changes in the manubrium are plausibly linked with changes in the size of the tympanic membrane. The main difference between the incus in African apes and humans seems to be related to changes in the functional length. Compared with chimpanzees, human incudes are larger in nearly all dimensions, except articular facet height, and show a more open angle between the axes. The gorilla incus resembles humans more closely in its metric dimensions, including functional length, perhaps as a result of the dramatically larger body size compared with chimpanzees. The differences between the stapedes of humans and African apes are primarily size-related, with humans being larger in nearly all dimensions. Nevertheless, some distinctions between the African apes were found in the obturator foramen and head height. Although correlations between metric variables in different ossicles were generally lower than those between variables in the same bone, variables of the malleus/incus complex appear to be more strongly correlated than those of the incus/stapes complex, perhaps reflecting the different embryological and evolutionary origins of the ossicles. The middle ear lever ratio for the African apes is similar to other haplorhines, but humans show the lowest lever ratio within primates. Very low levels of sexual dimorphism were found in the ossicles within each taxon, but some relationship with body size and several dimensions of the ear bones was found. Several of the metric distinctions in the incus and stapes imply a slightly different articulation of the ossicular chain within the tympanic cavity in African apes compared with humans. The limited auditory implications of these metric differences in the ossicles are also discussed. Finally, the results of this study suggest that several plesiomorphic features for apes may be retained in the ear bones of the early hominin taxa Australopithecus and Paranthropus as well as in the Neandertals. PMID:24845949

[Viral hepatitis A and B in anthropoid apes of the Moscow Zoo].

PubMed

Anan'ev, V A; Viazov, S O; Garanina, N M; Doroshenko, N V; Zhilina, N N

1984-01-01

The rate of occurrence of hepatitis A and B virus specific markers in anthropoid apes of the Moscow Zoo (3 chimpanzees, 3 gorillas, 8 orang-outangs) was studied. Long-term persistence of HBs-antigen in orang-outang accompanied by the presence of HBe-antigen and anti-HBs was demonstrated. The presence of anti-HBs in gorillas and orang-outangs was recorded. Antibodies to hepatitis A virus were found in all the animal species examined. Cases of acute virus hepatitis A in orang-outangs are described contracted from the personnel handling the animals and suffering from this type of hepatitis. Morphological features of the course of hepatitis A in the presence of HBs-antigen carrier state are described. The possibility of active immunization of susceptible animals and the personnel of the zoo against viral hepatitides is discussed.

Comparative and Familial Analysis of Handedness in Great Apes

PubMed Central

Hopkins, William D.

2007-01-01

Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right handedness, whereas gorillas and orangutans do not. All ape species showed evidence of population-level handedness when considering specific tasks. Familial analyses in chimpanzees indicated that offspring and maternal (but not paternal) handedness was significantly positively correlated, but this finding was contingent upon the classification criteria used to evaluate hand preference. Overall, the proportion of right handedness is lower in great apes compared with humans, and various methodological and theoretical explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. PMID:16822166

[Changes in DNA repair enzymes in rat ventroposterior nucleus of the thalamus after cerebral cortex infarction].

PubMed

He, Mei-Xia; Zeng, Jin-Sheng; Hua, Hai-Ying; Xing, Shi-Hui; Ba, Yun-Peng

2010-10-01

To investigate the damage within the ventroposterior nucleus (VPN) of the thalamus after focal cortical infarction and its mechanism, and explore the effect of ebselen on the oxidative damage after cerebral cortex infarction in hypertensive rats. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was induced in stroke-prone renovascular hypertensive rats (RHRSP), and the rats were divided into four groups by table of random number: sham operation group, model group, vehicle group and ebselen group, each group consisted of 8 rats. In animals subjected to sham surgery the middle cerebral artery was exposed only. Ebselen (5 ml/kg) or vehicle (a mixed solvent consisting of 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose and 0.02% Tween 20, 5 ml/kg) was given by gastric gavage starting 24 hours after cerebral cortical infarction. Two weeks after the MCAO, the rats were sacrificed, and VPN from each group was sectioned and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE), and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE) and Escherichia coli MutY DNA glycosylase (MYH) were determined by immunohistochemistry. HE staining showed that ebselen ameliorated the VPN damage induced by ischemia. Immunohistochemical imaging analysis revealed a distinct nuclear staining of APE and nuclear and cytoplasm distribution of MYH in the entire region of the VPN. Compared with sham operation group, the number of APE and MYH positive cells decreased in model group and vehicle group (APE: 57.0±14.7, 49.4±12.5 vs. 101.0±13.6, MYH: 15.0±4.7, 10.4±2.5 vs. 56.0±13.2, all P<0.05). Compared with model group and vehicle group, the number of APE and MYH positive cells increased significantly in ebselen group (APE: 72.2±7.6 vs. 57.0±14.7, 49.4±12.5, MYH: 32.2±7.6 vs. 15.0±4.7, 10.4±2.5, all P<0.05); the difference of the number of APE and MYH positive cells between model group and vehicle group showed no statistical significance. After 2 weeks of MCAO, there is a marked decrease of APE and MYH in VPN; ebselen can obviously increase the level of APE and MYH, and ebselen may protect the VPN of the thalamus from damage after focal cortical infarction in rats.

Comparing humans and nonhuman great apes in the broken cloth problem: Is their knowledge causal or perceptual?

PubMed

Albiach-Serrano, Anna; Sebastián-Enesco, Carla; Seed, Amanda; Colmenares, Fernando; Call, Josep

2015-11-01

When presented with the broken cloth problem, both human children and nonhuman great apes prefer to pull a continuous cloth over a discontinuous cloth in order to obtain a desired object resting on top. This has been interpreted as evidence that they preferentially attend to the functionally relevant cues of the task (e.g., presence or absence of a gap along the cloth). However, there is controversy regarding whether great apes' behavior is underpinned by causal knowledge, involving abstract concepts (e.g., support, connection), or by perceptual knowledge, based on percepts (e.g., contact, continuity). We presented chimpanzees, orangutans, and 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old children with two versions of the broken cloth problem. The Real condition, made with paper strips, could be solved based on either perceptual cues or causal knowledge. The Painted condition, which looked very similar, could be solved only by attending to perceptual cues. All groups mastered the Real condition, in line with previous results. Older children (3- and 4-year-olds) performed significantly better in this condition than all other groups, but the performance of apes and children did not differ sharply, with 2-year-olds and apes obtaining similar results. In contrast, only 4-year-olds solved the Painted condition. We propose causal knowledge to explain the general good performance of apes and humans in the Real condition compared with the Painted condition. In addition, we suggest that symbolic knowledge might account for 4-year-olds' performance in the Painted condition. Our findings add to the growing literature supporting the idea that learning from arbitrary cues is not a good explanation for the performance of apes and humans on some kinds of physical task. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association of Admission Glucose Level and Improvement in Pulmonary Artery Pressure in Patients with Submassive-type Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

PubMed

Gohbara, Masaomi; Hayakawa, Keigo; Hayakawa, Azusa; Akazawa, Yusuke; Yamaguchi, Yukihiro; Furihata, Shuta; Kondo, Ai; Fukushima, Yusuke; Tomari, Sakie; Mitsuhashi, Takayuki; Endo, Tsutomu; Kimura, Kazuo

2018-03-01

Objective The admission glucose level is a predictor of mortality even in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). However, whether or not the admission glucose level is associated with the severity of APE itself or the underlying disease of APE is unclear. Methods This study was a retrospective observational study. A pulmonary artery (PA) catheter was used to accurately evaluate the severity of APE. The percentage changes in the mean PA pressure (PAPm) upon placement and removal of the inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) were evaluated. We hypothesized that the admission glucose level was associated with the improvement in the PA pressure in patients with APE. Patients A total of consecutive 22 patients with submassive APE who underwent temporary or retrievable IVCF insertion on admission and repetitive PA catheter measurements upon placement and removal of IVCFs were enrolled. Results There was a significant positive correlation between the admission glucose levels and the percentage changes in the PAPm (r=0.543, p=0.009). A univariate linear regression analysis showed that the admission glucose level was the predictor of the percentage change in PAPm (β coefficient=0.169 per 1 mg/dL; 95% confidence interval, 0.047-0.291; p=0.009). A multivariate linear regression analysis with the forced inclusion model showed that the admission glucose level was the predictor of the percentage change in PAPm independent of diabetes mellitus, PAPm on admission, troponin positivity, and brain natriuretic peptide level (all p<0.05). Conclusion The admission glucose level was associated with the improvement in the PAPm in patients with submassive-type APE.

Thyroid Autoantibodies Are Rare in Nonhuman Great Apes and Hypothyroidism Cannot Be Attributed to Thyroid Autoimmunity

PubMed Central

Aliesky, Holly; Courtney, Cynthia L.; Rapoport, Basil

2013-01-01

The great apes include, in addition to Homo, the genera Pongo (orangutans), Gorilla (gorillas), and Pan, the latter comprising two species, P. troglodytes (chimpanzees) and P. paniscus (bonobos). Adult-onset hypothyroidism was previously reported in 4 individual nonhuman great apes. However, there is scarce information on normal serum thyroid hormone levels and virtually no data for thyroid autoantibodies in these animals. Therefore, we examined thyroid hormone levels and TSH in all nonhuman great ape genera including adults, adolescents, and infants. Because hypothyroidism in humans is commonly the end result of thyroid autoimmunity, we also tested healthy and hypothyroid nonhuman great apes for antibodies to thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), and the TSH receptor (TSHR). We established a thyroid hormone and TSH database in orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos (447 individuals). The most striking differences are the greatly reduced free-T4 and free-T3 levels in orangutans and gorillas vs chimpanzees and bonobos, and conversely, elevated TSH levels in gorillas vs Pan species. Antibodies to Tg and TPO were detected in only 2.6% of adult animals vs approximately 10% in humans. No animals with Tg, TPO, or TSHR antibodies exhibited thyroid dysfunction. Conversely, hypothyroid nonhuman great apes lacked thyroid autoantibodies. Moreover, thyroid histology in necropsy tissues was similar in euthyroid and hypothyroid individuals, and lymphocytic infiltration was absent in 2 hypothyroid animals. In conclusion, free T4 and free T3 are lower in orangutans and gorillas vs chimpanzees and bonobos, the closest living human relatives. Moreover, thyroid autoantibodies are rare and hypothyroidism is unrelated to thyroid autoimmunity in nonhuman great apes. PMID:24092641

Gas turbine system simulation: An object-oriented approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drummond, Colin K.; Follen, Gregory J.; Putt, Charles W.

1993-01-01

A prototype gas turbine engine simulation has been developed that offers a generalized framework for the simulation of engines subject to steady-state and transient operating conditions. The prototype is in preliminary form, but it successfully demonstrates the viability of an object-oriented approach for generalized simulation applications. Although object oriented programming languages are-relative to FORTRAN-somewhat austere, it is proposed that gas turbine simulations of an interdisciplinary nature will benefit significantly in terms of code reliability, maintainability, and manageability. This report elucidates specific gas turbine simulation obstacles that an object-oriented framework can overcome and describes the opportunity for interdisciplinary simulation that the approach offers.

Performance-Enhancing Drugs on the Web: A Growing Public-Health Issue

PubMed Central

Brennan, Brian P.; Kanayama, Gen; Pope, Harrison G.

2012-01-01

Background and Objectives Today’s Internet provides extensive “underground” guidelines for obtaining and using illicit substances, including especially anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and other appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs). We attempted to qualitatively characterize APED-related Internet sites. Methods We used relevant Internet search terms (e.g., “steroids bodybuilding” and “buy steroids online”), to assess 1) the numbers of site visitors; 2) offers of drugs for sale; and 3) the quality of online medical information. We also chose the examples of 4) “site-enhancing oils” and 5) “cattle implants” to illustrate the volume of available Internet information as compared with that in the medical literature. Results We found thousands of sites involving AAS and other APEDs. Most sites presented an unabashedly pro-drug position, often openly questioning the qualifications and motivations of mainstream medical practitioners. Offers of AAS and other APEDs for sale, together with medical advice of varying legitimacy, was widespread across sites. Importantly, many sites provided detailed guidelines for exotic forms of APED use, some likely associated with serious health risks, which are probably unknown to most practicing clinicians. Conclusions and Scientific Significance It seems important for practitioners to be aware of the extent of this “underground literature,” which may strongly influence their patients’ decisions about use and abuse of APEDs. PMID:23414502

Monkeys perform as well as apes and humans in a size discrimination task.

PubMed

Schmitt, Vanessa; Kröger, Iris; Zinner, Dietmar; Call, Josep; Fischer, Julia

2013-09-01

Whether the cognitive competences of monkeys and apes are rather similar or whether the larger-brained apes outperform monkeys in cognitive experiments is a highly debated topic. Direct comparative analyses are therefore essential to examine similarities and differences among species. We here compared six primate species, including humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas (great apes), olive baboons, and long-tailed macaques (Old World monkeys) in a task on fine-grained size discrimination. Except for gorillas, subjects of all taxa (i.e. humans, apes, and monkeys) were able to discriminate three-dimensional cubes with a volume difference of only 10 % (i.e. cubes of 50 and 48 mm side length) and performed only slightly worse when the cubes were presented successively. The minimal size discriminated declined further with increasing time delay between presentations of the cubes, highlighting the difficulty to memorize exact size differences. The results suggest that differences in brain size, as a proxy for general cognitive abilities, did not account for variation in performance, but that differential socio-ecological pressures may better explain species differences. Our study highlights the fact that differences in cognitive abilities do not always map neatly onto phylogenetic relationships and that in a number of cognitive experiments monkeys do not fare significantly worse than apes, casting doubt on the assumption that larger brains per se confer an advantage in such kinds of tests.

Are juvenile domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) sensitive to the attentive states of humans?--The impact of impulsivity on choice behaviour.

PubMed

Nawroth, Christian; Ebersbach, Mirjam; von Borell, Eberhard

2013-06-01

Previous studies have shown that apes, dogs and horses seem to be able to attribute attentive states to humans. Subjects had to choose between two persons: one who was able to see the animal and one who was not. Using a similar paradigm, we tested a species that does not rely strongly on visual cues, the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica). Subjects could choose between two unfamiliar persons, with only one showing attention, in three different conditions (body, head away, body turned - head front). Subjects (n=16) only showed a tendency towards the attentive human in the head away condition. However, by pooling those two conditions where the position of the human head was the only salient cue, we found a significant preference for the attentive person. Moreover, two approach styles could be distinguished - an impulsive style with short response times and a non-impulsive style where response times were relatively long. With the second approach style, pigs chose the attentive person significantly more often than expected by chance level, which was not the case when subjects chose impulsively. These first results suggest that pigs are able to use head cues to discriminate between different attentive states of humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vers une approche globale de l'évolution des HominidésTowards an all-round approach to Hominid evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaline, Jean

1998-03-01

Two models of diversification of the common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and men can be proposed on the basis of the distribution of chromosomal rearrangements in extant species and reconsideration of the role played by climate. The small genetic divergence between chimpanzees and humans is greatly amplified at the morphological level, thus constituting the 'human paradox'. This paradox is resolved by the economical and flexible evolutionary mechanism of mutations in regulator genes and the heterochronies they control, which are the true internal clocks of evolution. Changes in cranial morphology are quantified and used to analyse and explain the steps in the transition from great ape to human morphology. By comparison at the various stages of development, it is suggested that from great apes to modern man numerous heterochronies have occured during ontogeny (hypermorphosis, hypomorphosis and post-displacements).

The spread of a novel behavior in wild chimpanzees: New insights into the ape cultural mind.

PubMed

Gruber, Thibaud; Poisot, Timothée; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Hoppitt, William; Hobaiter, Catherine

2015-01-01

For years, the animal culture debate has been dominated by the puzzling absence of direct evidence for social transmission of behavioral innovations in the flagship species of animal culture, the common chimpanzee. Although social learning of novel behaviors has been documented in captivity, critics argue that these findings lack ecological validity and therefore may not be relevant for understanding the evolution of culture. For the wild, it is possible that group-specific behavioral differences emerge because group members respond individually to unspecified environmental differences, rather than learning from each other. In a recent paper, we used social network analyses in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) to provide direct evidence for social transmission of a behavioral innovation, moss-sponging, to extract water from a tree hole. Here, we discuss the implications of our findings and how our new methodological approach could help future studies of social learning and culture in wild apes.

African origin of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax.

PubMed

Liu, Weimin; Li, Yingying; Shaw, Katharina S; Learn, Gerald H; Plenderleith, Lindsey J; Malenke, Jordan A; Sundararaman, Sesh A; Ramirez, Miguel A; Crystal, Patricia A; Smith, Andrew G; Bibollet-Ruche, Frederic; Ayouba, Ahidjo; Locatelli, Sabrina; Esteban, Amandine; Mouacha, Fatima; Guichet, Emilande; Butel, Christelle; Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Inogwabini, Bila-Isia; Ndjango, Jean-Bosco N; Speede, Sheri; Sanz, Crickette M; Morgan, David B; Gonder, Mary K; Kranzusch, Philip J; Walsh, Peter D; Georgiev, Alexander V; Muller, Martin N; Piel, Alex K; Stewart, Fiona A; Wilson, Michael L; Pusey, Anne E; Cui, Liwang; Wang, Zenglei; Färnert, Anna; Sutherland, Colin J; Nolder, Debbie; Hart, John A; Hart, Terese B; Bertolani, Paco; Gillis, Amethyst; LeBreton, Matthew; Tafon, Babila; Kiyang, John; Djoko, Cyrille F; Schneider, Bradley S; Wolfe, Nathan D; Mpoudi-Ngole, Eitel; Delaporte, Eric; Carter, Richard; Culleton, Richard L; Shaw, George M; Rayner, Julian C; Peeters, Martine; Hahn, Beatrice H; Sharp, Paul M

2014-01-01

Plasmodium vivax is the leading cause of human malaria in Asia and Latin America but is absent from most of central Africa due to the near fixation of a mutation that inhibits the expression of its receptor, the Duffy antigen, on human erythrocytes. The emergence of this protective allele is not understood because P. vivax is believed to have originated in Asia. Here we show, using a non-invasive approach, that wild chimpanzees and gorillas throughout central Africa are endemically infected with parasites that are closely related to human P. vivax. Sequence analyses reveal that ape parasites lack host specificity and are much more diverse than human parasites, which form a monophyletic lineage within the ape parasite radiation. These findings indicate that human P. vivax is of African origin and likely selected for the Duffy-negative mutation. All extant human P. vivax parasites are derived from a single ancestor that escaped out of Africa.

African origin of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

PubMed Central

Liu, Weimin; Li, Yingying; Shaw, Katharina S.; Learn, Gerald H.; Plenderleith, Lindsey J.; Malenke, Jordan A.; Sundararaman, Sesh A.; Ramirez, Miguel A.; Crystal, Patricia A.; Smith, Andrew G.; Bibollet-Ruche, Frederic; Ayouba, Ahidjo; Locatelli, Sabrina; Esteban, Amandine; Mouacha, Fatima; Guichet, Emilande; Butel, Christelle; Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Inogwabini, Bila-Isia; Ndjango, Jean-Bosco N.; Speede, Sheri; Sanz, Crickette M.; Morgan, David B.; Gonder, Mary K.; Kranzusch, Philip J.; Walsh, Peter D.; Georgiev, Alexander V.; Muller, Martin N.; Piel, Alex K.; Stewart, Fiona A.; Wilson, Michael L.; Pusey, Anne E.; Cui, Liwang; Wang, Zenglei; Färnert, Anna; Sutherland, Colin J.; Nolder, Debbie; Hart, John A.; Hart, Terese B.; Bertolani, Paco; Gillis, Amethyst; LeBreton, Matthew; Tafon, Babila; Kiyang, John; Djoko, Cyrille F.; Schneider, Bradley S.; Wolfe, Nathan D.; Mpoudi-Ngole, Eitel; Delaporte, Eric; Carter, Richard; Culleton, Richard L.; Shaw, George M.; Rayner, Julian C.; Peeters, Martine; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Sharp, Paul M.

2014-01-01

Plasmodium vivax is the leading cause of human malaria in Asia and Latin America but is absent from most of central Africa due to the near fixation of a mutation that inhibits the expression of its receptor, the Duffy antigen, on human erythrocytes. The emergence of this protective allele is not understood because P. vivax is believed to have originated in Asia. Here we show, using a non-invasive approach, that wild chimpanzees and gorillas throughout central Africa are endemically infected with parasites that are closely related to human P. vivax. Sequence analyses reveal that ape parasites lack host specificity and are much more diverse than human parasites, which form a monophyletic lineage within the ape parasite radiation. These findings indicate that human P. vivax is of African origin and likely selected for the Duffy-negative mutation. All extant human P. vivax parasites are derived from a single ancestor that escaped out of Africa. PMID:24557500

Cloud-generated radiative heating and its generation of available potential energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuhlmann, R.; Smith, G. L.

1989-01-01

The generation of zonal available potential energy (APE) by cloud radiative heating is discussed. The APE concept was mathematically formulated by Lorenz (1955) as a measure of the maximum amount of total potential energy that is available for conversion by adiabatic processes to kinetic energy. The rate of change of APE is the rate of the generation of APE minus the rate of conversion between potential and kinetic energy. By radiative transfer calculations, a mean cloud-generated radiative heating for a well defined set of cloud classes is derived as a function of cloud optical thickness. The formulation is suitable for using a general cloud parameter data set and has the advantage of taking into account nonlinearities between the microphysical and macrophysical cloud properties and the related radiation field.

Comparative and familial analysis of handedness in great apes.

PubMed

Hopkins, William D

2006-07-01

Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right handedness, whereas gorillas and orangutans do not. All ape species showed evidence of population-level handedness when considering specific tasks. Familial analyses in chimpanzees indicated that offspring and maternal (but not paternal) handedness was significantly positively correlated, but this finding was contingent upon the classification criteria used to evaluate hand preference. Overall, the proportion of right handedness is lower in great apes compared with humans, and various methodological and theoretical explanations for this discrepancy are discussed. Copyright (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Rational tool use and tool choice in human infants and great apes.

PubMed

Buttelmann, David; Carpenter, Malinda; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2008-01-01

G. Gergely, H. Bekkering, and I. Király (2002) showed that 14-month-old infants imitate rationally, copying an adult's unusual action more often when it was freely chosen than when it was forced by some constraint. This suggests that infants understand others' intentions as rational choices of action plans. It is important to test whether apes also understand others' intentions in this way. In each of the current 3 studies, a comparison group of 14-month-olds used a tool more often when a demonstrator freely chose to use it than when she had to use it, but apes generally used the tool equally often in both conditions (orangutans were an exception). Only some apes thus show an understanding of others' intentions as rational choices of action plans.

Body checking behaviors in men.

PubMed

Walker, D Catherine; Anderson, Drew A; Hildebrandt, Thomas

2009-06-01

Males have been facing increasing pressure from the media to attain a lean, muscular physique, and are at risk for body dissatisfaction, disturbed eating and exercise behaviors, and abuse of appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs). The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between body checking and mood, symptoms of muscle dysmorphia, importance of shape and weight, and APED use in undergraduate males. Body checking in males was correlated with weight and shape concern, symptoms of muscle dysmorphia, depression, negative affect, and APED use. Body checking predicted APED use and uniquely accounted for the largest amount of variance in Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI) scores (16%). Findings support the view that body checking is an important construct in male body image, muscle dysmorphia, and body change strategies and suggest a need for further research.

Access, Quality, and Opportunity: A Case Study of Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mwalimu, Michelle

2011-01-01

Community schools and other approaches to Alternative Primary Education or APE have increased access to primary education for underserved populations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as a major goal of the Education for All (EFA) movement. In Zambia, a country where an estimated 20 percent of the basic education enrollment now attends community…

Primate Conservation--An Evaluation of Two Different Educational Programs in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seybold, Brigitte; Braunbeck, Thomas; Randler, Christoph

2014-01-01

Nearly all primate species are globally threatened. Conservation approaches need to focus on local people and users of resources from the habitats of the apes. Students worldwide should become aware of the context and relationships in school, and they should change their usage and behaviour as the ultimate goals. This study explored the…

A new approach to estimate parameters of speciation models with application to apes.

PubMed

Becquet, Celine; Przeworski, Molly

2007-10-01

How populations diverge and give rise to distinct species remains a fundamental question in evolutionary biology, with important implications for a wide range of fields, from conservation genetics to human evolution. A promising approach is to estimate parameters of simple speciation models using polymorphism data from multiple loci. Existing methods, however, make a number of assumptions that severely limit their applicability, notably, no gene flow after the populations split and no intralocus recombination. To overcome these limitations, we developed a new Markov chain Monte Carlo method to estimate parameters of an isolation-migration model. The approach uses summaries of polymorphism data at multiple loci surveyed in a pair of diverging populations or closely related species and, importantly, allows for intralocus recombination. To illustrate its potential, we applied it to extensive polymorphism data from populations and species of apes, whose demographic histories are largely unknown. The isolation-migration model appears to provide a reasonable fit to the data. It suggests that the two chimpanzee species became reproductively isolated in allopatry approximately 850 Kya, while Western and Central chimpanzee populations split approximately 440 Kya but continued to exchange migrants. Similarly, Eastern and Western gorillas and Sumatran and Bornean orangutans appear to have experienced gene flow since their splits approximately 90 and over 250 Kya, respectively.

Engineering Safety- and Security-Related Requirements for Software-Intensive Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-31

University Very Large New Zoo Parking Lots Zoo Back Lots Restaurants and Shops Tropical Rainforest African SavannaChildren’s Petting Area Monkeys Great Apes...decide to ride to the Great Apes and Monkeys taxi station near the central shops and restaurants area. Mr. Smith then swipes his zoo taxi travel card...taxi station on their right, circles around the central area, and soon pulls off the Zoo Loop Line to enter the inner Great Apes and Monkeys taxi

Ulcerative colitis in apes: A comparison with the human disease.

PubMed

Scott, G B; Keymer, I F

1975-04-01

The pathological changes in the colons of two young gorillas and an adult orang-utan which developed diarrhoea and died, are described. Since no causative agents could be identified and the changes were indistinguishable from the active phase of ulcerative colitis in humans, these cases were considered examples of this disease in apes. Evidence of early healing was found in one case and the suitability of apes and monkeys as possible animal models of the human disease is discussed.

Checking an integrated model of web accessibility and usability evaluation for disabled people.

PubMed

Federici, Stefano; Micangeli, Andrea; Ruspantini, Irene; Borgianni, Stefano; Corradi, Fabrizio; Pasqualotto, Emanuele; Olivetti Belardinelli, Marta

2005-07-08

A combined objective-oriented and subjective-oriented method for evaluating accessibility and usability of web pages for students with disability was tested. The objective-oriented approach is devoted to verifying the conformity of interfaces to standard rules stated by national and international organizations responsible for web technology standardization, such as W3C. Conversely, the subjective-oriented approach allows assessing how the final users interact with the artificial system, accessing levels of user satisfaction based on personal factors and environmental barriers. Five kinds of measurements were applied as objective-oriented and subjective-oriented tests. Objective-oriented evaluations were performed on the Help Desk web page for students with disability, included in the website of a large Italian state university. Subjective-oriented tests were administered to 19 students labeled as disabled on the basis of their own declaration at the University enrolment: 13 students were tested by means of the SUMI test and six students by means of the 'Cooperative evaluation'. Objective-oriented and subjective-oriented methods highlighted different and sometimes conflicting results. Both methods have pointed out much more consistency regarding levels of accessibility than of usability. Since usability is largely affected by individual differences in user's own (dis)abilities, subjective-oriented measures underscored the fact that blind students encountered much more web surfing difficulties.

Culture extends the scope of evolutionary biology in the great apes.

PubMed

Whiten, Andrew

2017-07-24

Discoveries about the cultures and cultural capacities of the great apes have played a leading role in the recognition emerging in recent decades that cultural inheritance can be a significant factor in the lives not only of humans but also of nonhuman animals. This prominence derives in part from these primates being those with whom we share the most recent common ancestry, thus offering clues to the origins of our own thoroughgoing reliance on cumulative cultural achievements. In addition, the intense research focus on these species has spawned an unprecedented diversity of complementary methodological approaches, the results of which suggest that cultural phenomena pervade the lives of these apes, with potentially major implications for their broader evolutionary biology. Here I review what this extremely broad array of observational and experimental methodologies has taught us about the cultural lives of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans and consider the ways in which this knowledge extends our wider understanding of primate biology and the processes of adaptation and evolution that shape it. I address these issues first by evaluating the extent to which the results of cultural inheritance echo a suite of core principles that underlie organic Darwinian evolution but also extend them in new ways and then by assessing the principal causal interactions between the primary, genetically based organic processes of evolution and the secondary system of cultural inheritance that is based on social learning from others.

Culture extends the scope of evolutionary biology in the great apes

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Discoveries about the cultures and cultural capacities of the great apes have played a leading role in the recognition emerging in recent decades that cultural inheritance can be a significant factor in the lives not only of humans but also of nonhuman animals. This prominence derives in part from these primates being those with whom we share the most recent common ancestry, thus offering clues to the origins of our own thoroughgoing reliance on cumulative cultural achievements. In addition, the intense research focus on these species has spawned an unprecedented diversity of complementary methodological approaches, the results of which suggest that cultural phenomena pervade the lives of these apes, with potentially major implications for their broader evolutionary biology. Here I review what this extremely broad array of observational and experimental methodologies has taught us about the cultural lives of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans and consider the ways in which this knowledge extends our wider understanding of primate biology and the processes of adaptation and evolution that shape it. I address these issues first by evaluating the extent to which the results of cultural inheritance echo a suite of core principles that underlie organic Darwinian evolution but also extend them in new ways and then by assessing the principal causal interactions between the primary, genetically based organic processes of evolution and the secondary system of cultural inheritance that is based on social learning from others. PMID:28739927

The Examination of Physical Education Teachers' Perceptions of Their Teacher Training to Include Students with Disabilities in General Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, Amy

2017-01-01

Despite legislative mandates, only 32% of states require specific licensure in adapted physical education (APE); consequently, general physical educators are challenged with including students with disabilities into regular classrooms. Although physical education teachers are considered qualified personnel to teach students with disabilities in…

Younger apes and human children plan their moves in a maze task.

PubMed

Völter, Christoph J; Call, Josep

2014-02-01

Planning defined as the predetermination of a sequence of actions towards some goal is crucial for complex problem solving. To shed light on the evolution of executive functions, we investigated the ontogenetic and phylogenetic origins of planning. Therefore, we presented all four great apes species (N=12) as well as 4- and 5-year-old human preschoolers (N=24) with a vertical maze task. To gain a reward placed on the uppermost level of the maze, subjects had to move the reward to the bottom through open gaps situated at each level of the maze. In total, there were ten gaps located over three of the maze's levels, and free passage through these gaps could be flexibly blocked using multiple traps. Due to the decision tree design of the maze, the subjects had to plan their actions depending on the trap configuration up to two steps ahead to successfully retrieve the reward. We found that (1) our measure of planning was negatively correlated with age in nonhuman apes, (2) younger apes as well as 5-year-old children planned their moves up to two steps ahead whereas 4-year-olds were limited to plan one step ahead, and (3) similar performance but different underlying limitations between apes and children. Namely, while all species of nonhuman apes were limited by a lack of motor control, human children exhibited a shortage in shifting their attention across a sequence of subgoals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Will oil palm's homecoming spell doom for Africa's great apes?

PubMed

Wich, Serge A; Garcia-Ulloa, John; Kühl, Hjalmar S; Humle, Tatanya; Lee, Janice S H; Koh, Lian Pin

2014-07-21

Expansion of oil palm plantations has led to extensive wildlife habitat conversion in Southeast Asia [1]. This expansion is driven by a global demand for palm oil for products ranging from foods to detergents [2], and more recently for biofuels [3]. The negative impacts of oil palm development on biodiversity [1, 4, 5], and on orangutans (Pongo spp.) in particular, have been well documented [6, 7] and publicized [8, 9]. Although the oil palm is of African origin, Africa's production historically lags behind that of Southeast Asia. Recently, significant investments have been made that will likely drive the expansion of Africa's oil palm industry [10]. There is concern that this will lead to biodiversity losses similar to those in Southeast Asia. Here, we analyze the potential impact of oil palm development on Africa's great apes. Current great ape distribution in Africa substantially overlaps with current oil palm concessions (by 58.7%) and areas suitable for oil palm production (by 42.3%). More importantly, 39.9% of the distribution of great ape species on unprotected lands overlaps with suitable oil palm areas. There is an urgent need to develop guidelines for the expansion of oil palm in Africa to minimize the negative effects on apes and other wildlife. There is also a need for research to support land use decisions to reconcile economic development, great ape conservation, and avoiding carbon emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proximal metatarsal articular surface shape and the evolution of a rigid lateral foot in hominins.

PubMed

Proctor, Daniel J

2013-12-01

This study quantifies the proximal articular surface shape of metatarsal (MT) 4 and MT 5 using three-dimensional morphometrics. Humans and apes are compared to test whether they have significantly different shapes that are skeletal correlates to comparative lateral foot function. In addition, shod and unshod humans are compared to test for significant differences in surface shape. The MT 4 fossils OH 8, Stw 628, and AL 333-160, and the MT 5 fossils AL 333-13, AL 333-78, OH 8, and Stw 114/115 are compared with humans and apes to assess whether they bear greater similarities to humans, which would imply a relatively stable lateral foot, or to apes, which would imply a flexible foot with a midfoot break. Apes have a convex curved MT 4 surface, and humans have a flat surface. The MT 4 fossils show greater similarity to unshod humans, suggesting a stable lateral foot. Unshod humans have a relatively flatter MT 4 surface compared with shod humans. There is much overlap in MT 5 shape between humans and apes, with more similarity between humans and Gorilla. The fossil MT 5 surfaces are generally flat, most similar to humans and Gorilla. Because of the high degree of shape overlap between humans and apes, one must use caution in interpreting lateral foot function from the proximal MT 5 surface alone. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ape malaria transmission and potential for ape-to-human transfers in Africa

PubMed Central

Makanga, Boris; Yangari, Patrick; Rahola, Nil; Rougeron, Virginie; Elguero, Eric; Boundenga, Larson; Moukodoum, Nancy Diamella; Okouga, Alain Prince; Arnathau, Céline; Durand, Patrick; Willaume, Eric; Ayala, Diego; Fontenille, Didier; Ayala, Francisco J.; Renaud, François; Ollomo, Benjamin; Prugnolle, Franck; Paupy, Christophe

2016-01-01

Recent studies have highlighted the large diversity of malaria parasites infecting African great apes (subgenus Laverania) and their strong host specificity. Although the existence of genetic incompatibilities preventing the cross-species transfer may explain host specificity, the existence of vectors with a high preference for a determined host represents another possibility. To test this hypothesis, we undertook a 15-mo-long longitudinal entomological survey in two forest regions of Gabon, where wild apes live, at different heights under the canopy. More than 2,400 anopheline mosquitoes belonging to 18 species were collected. Among them, only three species of Anopheles were found infected with ape Plasmodium: Anopheles vinckei, Anopheles moucheti, and Anopheles marshallii. Their role in transmission was confirmed by the detection of the parasites in their salivary glands. Among these species, An. vinckei showed significantly the highest prevalence of infection and was shown to be able to transmit parasites of both chimpanzees and gorillas. Transmission was also shown to be conditioned by seasonal factors and by the heights of capture under the canopy. Moreover, human landing catches of sylvan Anopheles demonstrated the propensity of these three vector species to feed on humans when available. Our results suggest therefore that the strong host specificity observed in the Laveranias is not linked to a specific association between the vertebrate host and the vector species and highlight the potential role of these vectors as bridge between apes and humans. PMID:27071123

Identification of a residue critical for the excision of 3′-blocking ends in apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases of the Xth family

PubMed Central

Castillo-Acosta, Víctor M.; Ruiz-Pérez, Luis M.; Yang, Wei; González-Pacanowska, Dolores; Vidal, Antonio E.

2009-01-01

DNA single-strand breaks containing 3′-blocking groups are generated from attack of the sugar backbone by reactive oxygen species or after base excision by DNA glycosylase/apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) lyases. In human cells, APE1 excises sugar fragments that block the 3′-ends thus facilitating DNA repair synthesis. In Leishmania major, the causal agent of leishmaniasis, the APE1 homolog is the class II AP endonuclease LMAP. Expression of LMAP but not of APE1 reverts the hypersensitivity of a xth nfo repair-deficient Escherichia coli strain to the oxidative compound hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). To identify the residues specifically involved in the repair of oxidative DNA damage, we generated random mutations in the ape1 gene and selected those variants that conferred protection against H2O2. Among the resistant clones, we isolated a mutant in the nuclease domain of APE1 (D70A) with an increased capacity to remove 3′-blocking ends in vitro. D70 of APE1 aligns with A138 of LMAP and mutation of the latter to aspartate significantly reduces its 3′-phosphodiesterase activity. Kinetic analysis shows a novel role of residue D70 in the excision rate of 3′-blocking ends. The functional and structural differences between the parasite and human enzymes probably reflect a divergent molecular evolution of their DNA repair responses to oxidative damage. PMID:19181704

Apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, P. troglodytes, Pongo abelii) versus corvids (Corvus corax, C. corone) in a support task: the effect of pattern and functionality.

PubMed

Albiach-Serrano, Anna; Bugnyar, Thomas; Call, Josep

2012-11-01

Apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, P. troglodytes, Pong abelii) and corvids (Corvus corax, C. corone) are among the most proficient and flexible tool users in the animal kingdom. Although it has been proposed that this is the result of convergent evolution, little is known about whether this is limited to behavior or also includes the underlying cognitive mechanisms. We compared several species of apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) and corvids (carrion crows and common ravens) using exactly the same paradigm: a support task with elements from the classical patterned-string tasks. Corvids proved able to solve at least an easy pattern, whereas apes outperformed corvids with respect to the complexity of the patterns solved, the relative number of subjects solving each problem, and the speed to reach criterion. We addressed the question of whether subjects based their choices purely on perceptual cues or on a more abstract understanding of the problem. This was done by using a perceptually very similar but causally different condition where instead of paper strips there were strip shapes painted on a platform. Corvids' performance did not differ between conditions, whereas apes were able to solve the real but not the painted task. This shows that apes were not basing their choices just on spatial or arbitrary perceptual cues. Instead, and unlike corvids, they must have had some causal knowledge of the task.

Brain structure variation in great apes, with attention to the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei).

PubMed

Sherwood, Chet C; Cranfield, Michael R; Mehlman, Patrick T; Lilly, Alecia A; Garbe, Jo Anne L; Whittier, Christopher A; Nutter, Felicia B; Rein, Thomas R; Bruner, Harlan J; Holloway, Ralph L; Tang, Cheuk Y; Naidich, Thomas P; Delman, Bradley N; Steklis, H Dieter; Erwin, Joseph M; Hof, Patrick R

2004-07-01

This report presents data regarding the brain structure of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in comparison with other great apes. Magnetic resonance (MR) images of three mountain gorilla brains were obtained with a 3T scanner, and the volume of major neuroanatomical structures (neocortical gray matter, hippocampus, thalamus, striatum, and cerebellum) was measured. These data were included with our existing database that includes 23 chimpanzees, three western lowland gorillas, and six orangutans. We defined a multidimensional space by calculating the principal components (PCs) from the correlation matrix of brain structure fractions in the well-represented sample of chimpanzees. We then plotted data from all of the taxa in this space to examine phyletic variation in neural organization. Most of the variance in mountain gorillas, as well as other great apes, was contained within the chimpanzee range along the first two PCs, which accounted for 61.73% of the total variance. Thus, the majority of interspecific variation in brain structure observed among these ape taxa was no greater than the within-species variation seen in chimpanzees. The loadings on PCs indicated that the brain structure of great apes differs among taxa mostly in the relative sizes of the striatum, cerebellum, and hippocampus. These findings suggest possible functional differences among taxa in terms of neural adaptations for ecological and locomotor capacities. Importantly, these results fill a critical gap in current knowledge regarding great ape neuroanatomical diversity.

Comparative morphology of the hominin and African ape hyoid bone, a possible marker of the evolution of speech.

PubMed

Steele, James; Clegg, Margaret; Martelli, Sandra

2013-10-01

This study examines the morphology of the hyoid in three closely related species, Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, and Gorilla gorilla. Differences and similarities between the hyoids of these species are characterized and used to interpret the morphology and affi nities of the Dikika A. afarensis, Kebara 2 Neanderthal, and other fossil hominin hyoid bones. Humans and African apes are found to have distinct hyoid morphologies. In humans the maximum width across the distal tips of the articulated greater horns is usually slightly greater than the maximum length (distal greater horn tip to most anterior point of the hyoid body in the midline). A different pattern is usually found in the African ape hyoids, which have much greater maximum lengths. In humans, the hyoid body is also much more anteroposteriorly shallow in proportion to its height and width, and this is true for all age classes. The Dikika australopithecine hyoid body proportions are chimpanzeelike. A discriminant function analysis, using a larger subadult sample from the three extant species than that reported by Alemseged et al. (2006), confirms this finding. The Kebara hyoid dimensions (body alone, and articulated body and greater horns) are almost all within the observed range for human hyoids. Discriminant functions clearly distinguish human from African ape hyoids and classify the Kebara 2 hyoid as human (confirming the finding of Arensburg et al. 1989). Our virtual dissection of a chimpanzee air sac system shows its subhyoid extension into the dorsal hyoid body. Following Alemseged et al. (2006), the expanded bulla characteristic of the African ape and australopithecine hyoid body is therefore interpreted as refl ecting the presence of such a laryngeal air sac extension. Its absence in the human, Neanderthal, and H. heidelbergensis (Atapuerca SH) hyoids implicates the loss of the laryngeal air sacs as a derived Neanderthal and modern human trait, which evolved no later than the middle Pleistocene. If, as has been argued by de Boer (2012), the loss of the air sac helped to enhance perceptual discrimination of speech sounds, then this derived hyoid morphology can be added to the list of fossil markers of the capacity for speech. Copyright © 2014 Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201-1309.

A comparative quantitative analysis of cytoarchitecture and minicolumnar organization in Broca's area in humans and great apes.

PubMed

Schenker, Natalie M; Buxhoeveden, Daniel P; Blackmon, William L; Amunts, Katrin; Zilles, Karl; Semendeferi, Katerina

2008-09-01

Broca's area was identified in the inferior frontal gyrus of chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan brains through direct cytoarchitectonic comparison with human brains. Across species, Broca's area comprises Brodmann's areas 44 and 45. We found that these areas exhibited similar cytoarchitectonic characteristics in all species examined. We analyzed the minicolumnar organization of cells in layer III of Broca's area in 11 human and 9 great ape specimens. A semiautomated method was used to analyze digitized images of histological sections stained for Nissl substance. Horizontal spacing distance and gray level index (GLI; or the area fraction occupied by cells) were quantified in all images. In contrast to area Tpt, the only cortical area for which comparative minicolumnar data have been published previously for humans and one of the great apes, we found no population-level asymmetry, for either horizontal spacing distance or GLI. Only human females exhibited a leftward asymmetry in GLI. GLI was lower in humans than in great apes (P < 0.001), allowing more space for connectivity in layer III. In humans, horizontal spacing distance was greater than in great apes but smaller relative to brain size. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Palaeontological evidence for an Oligocene divergence between Old World monkeys and apes.

PubMed

Stevens, Nancy J; Seiffert, Erik R; O'Connor, Patrick M; Roberts, Eric M; Schmitz, Mark D; Krause, Cornelia; Gorscak, Eric; Ngasala, Sifa; Hieronymus, Tobin L; Temu, Joseph

2013-05-30

Apes and Old World monkeys are prominent components of modern African and Asian ecosystems, yet the earliest phases of their evolutionary history have remained largely undocumented. The absence of crown catarrhine fossils older than ∼20 million years (Myr) has stood in stark contrast to molecular divergence estimates of ∼25-30 Myr for the split between Cercopithecoidea (Old World monkeys) and Hominoidea (apes), implying long ghost lineages for both clades. Here we describe the oldest known fossil 'ape', represented by a partial mandible preserving dental features that place it with 'nyanzapithecine' stem hominoids. Additionally, we report the oldest stem member of the Old World monkey clade, represented by a lower third molar. Both specimens were recovered from a precisely dated 25.2-Myr-old stratum in the Rukwa Rift, a segment of the western branch of the East African Rift in Tanzania. These finds extend the fossil record of apes and Old World monkeys well into the Oligocene epoch of Africa, suggesting a possible link between diversification of crown catarrhines and changes in the African landscape brought about by previously unrecognized tectonic activity in the East African rift system.

Humans and great apes share increased neocortical neuropeptide Y innervation compared to other haplorhine primates.

PubMed

Raghanti, Mary Ann; Edler, Melissa K; Meindl, Richard S; Sudduth, Jessica; Bohush, Tatiana; Erwin, Joseph M; Stimpson, Cheryl D; Hof, Patrick R; Sherwood, Chet C

2014-01-01

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays a role in a variety of basic physiological functions and has also been implicated in regulating cognition, including learning and memory. A decrease in neocortical NPY has been reported for Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, potentially contributing to associated cognitive deficits. The goal of the present analysis was to examine variation in neocortical NPY-immunoreactive axon and varicosity density among haplorhine primates (monkeys, apes, and humans). Stereologic methods were used to measure the ratios of NPY-expressing axon length density to total neuron density (ALv/Nv) and NPY-immunoreactive varicosity density to neuron density (Vv/Nv), as well as the mean varicosity spacing in neocortical areas 10, 24, 44, and 22 (Tpt) of humans, African great apes, New World monkeys, and Old World monkeys. Humans and great apes showed increased cortical NPY innervation relative to monkey species for ALv/Nv and Vv/Nv. Furthermore, humans and great apes displayed a conserved pattern of varicosity spacing across cortical areas and layers, with no differences between cortical layers or among cortical areas. These phylogenetic differences may be related to shared life history variables and may reflect specific cognitive abilities.

Evidence for Human Streptococcus pneumoniae in wild and captive chimpanzees: A potential threat to wild populations.

PubMed

Köndgen, Sophie; Calvignac-Spencer, Sebastien; Grützmacher, Kim; Keil, Verena; Mätz-Rensing, Kerstin; Nowak, Kathrin; Metzger, Sonja; Kiyang, John; Becker, Antina Lübke; Deschner, Tobias; Wittig, Roman M; Lankester, Felix; Leendertz, Fabian H

2017-11-06

Habituation of wild great apes for tourism and research has had a significant positive effect on the conservation of these species. However, risks associated with such activities have been identified, specifically the transmission of human respiratory viruses to wild great apes, causing high morbidity and, occasionally, mortality. Here, we investigate the source of bacterial-viral co-infections in wild and captive chimpanzee communities in the course of several respiratory disease outbreaks. Molecular analyses showed that human respiratory syncytial viruses (HRSV) and human metapneumoviruses (HMPV) were involved in the etiology of the disease. In addition our analysis provide evidence for coinfection with Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae. Characterisation of isolates from wild chimpanzees point towards a human origin of these bacteria. Transmission of these bacteria is of concern because - in contrast to HRSV and HMPV - S. pneumoniae can become part of the nasopharyngeal flora, contributing to the severity of respiratory disease progression. Furthermore these bacteria have the potential to spread to other individuals in the community and ultimately into the population. Targeted vaccination programs could be used to vaccinate habituated great apes but also human populations around great ape habitats, bringing health benefits to both humans and wild great apes.

Great apes are sensitive to prior reliability of an informant in a gaze following task.

PubMed

Schmid, Benjamin; Karg, Katja; Perner, Josef; Tomasello, Michael

2017-01-01

Social animals frequently rely on information from other individuals. This can be costly in case the other individual is mistaken or even deceptive. Human infants below 4 years of age show proficiency in their reliance on differently reliable informants. They can infer the reliability of an informant from few interactions and use that assessment in later interactions with the same informant in a different context. To explore whether great apes share that ability, in our study we confronted great apes with a reliable or unreliable informant in an object choice task, to see whether that would in a subsequent task affect their gaze following behaviour in response to the same informant. In our study, prior reliability of the informant and habituation during the gaze following task affected both great apes' automatic gaze following response and their more deliberate response of gaze following behind barriers. As habituation is very context specific, it is unlikely that habituation in the reliability task affected the gaze following task. Rather it seems that apes employ a reliability tracking strategy that results in a general avoidance of additional information from an unreliable informant.

Evidence for a midlife crisis in great apes consistent with the U-shape in human well-being

PubMed Central

Weiss, Alexander; King, James E.; Inoue-Murayama, Miho; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; Oswald, Andrew J.

2012-01-01

Recently, economists and behavioral scientists have studied the pattern of human well-being over the lifespan. In dozens of countries, and for a large range of well-being measures, including happiness and mental health, well-being is high in youth, falls to a nadir in midlife, and rises again in old age. The reasons for this U-shape are still unclear. Present theories emphasize sociological and economic forces. In this study we show that a similar U-shape exists in 508 great apes (two samples of chimpanzees and one sample of orangutans) whose well-being was assessed by raters familiar with the individual apes. This U-shaped pattern or “midlife crisis” emerges with or without use of parametric methods. Our results imply that human well-being’s curved shape is not uniquely human and that, although it may be partly explained by aspects of human life and society, its origins may lie partly in the biology we share with great apes. These findings have implications across scientific and social-scientific disciplines, and may help to identify ways of enhancing human and ape well-being. PMID:23169637

The great divides: Ardipithecus ramidus reveals the postcrania of our last common ancestors with African apes.

PubMed

Lovejoy, C Owen; Suwa, Gen; Simpson, Scott W; Matternes, Jay H; White, Tim D

2009-10-02

Genomic comparisons have established the chimpanzee and bonobo as our closest living relatives. However, the intricacies of gene regulation and expression caution against the use of these extant apes in deducing the anatomical structure of the last common ancestor that we shared with them. Evidence for this structure must therefore be sought from the fossil record. Until now, that record has provided few relevant data because available fossils were too recent or too incomplete. Evidence from Ardipithecus ramidus now suggests that the last common ancestor lacked the hand, foot, pelvic, vertebral, and limb structures and proportions specialized for suspension, vertical climbing, and knuckle-walking among extant African apes. If this hypothesis is correct, each extant African ape genus must have independently acquired these specializations from more generalized ancestors who still practiced careful arboreal climbing and bridging. African apes and hominids acquired advanced orthogrady in parallel. Hominoid spinal invagination is an embryogenetic mechanism that reoriented the shoulder girdle more laterally. It was unaccompanied by substantial lumbar spine abbreviation, an adaptation restricted to vertical climbing and/or suspension. The specialized locomotor anatomies and behaviors of chimpanzees and gorillas therefore constitute poor models for the origin and evolution of human bipedality.

Mechanical analysis of infant carrying in hominoids

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

In all higher nonhuman primates, species survival depends upon safe carrying of infants clinging to body hair of adults. In this work, measurements of mechanical properties of ape hair (gibbon, orangutan, and gorilla) are presented, focusing on constraints for safe infant carrying. Results of hair tensile properties are shown to be species-dependent. Analysis of the mechanics of the mounting position, typical of heavier infant carrying among African apes, shows that both clinging and friction are necessary to carry heavy infants. As a consequence, a required relationship between infant weight, hair–hair friction coefficient, and body angle exists. The hair–hair friction coefficient is measured using natural ape skin samples, and dependence on load and humidity is analyzed. Numerical evaluation of the equilibrium constraint is in agreement with the knuckle-walking quadruped position of African apes. Bipedality is clearly incompatible with the usual clinging and mounting pattern of infant carrying, requiring a revision of models of hominization in relation to the divergence between apes and hominins. These results suggest that safe carrying of heavy infants justify the emergence of biped form of locomotion. Ways to test this possibility are foreseen here. PMID:18030438

Ape gestures and language evolution

PubMed Central

Pollick, Amy S.; de Waal, Frans B. M.

2007-01-01

The natural communication of apes may hold clues about language origins, especially because apes frequently gesture with limbs and hands, a mode of communication thought to have been the starting point of human language evolution. The present study aimed to contrast brachiomanual gestures with orofacial movements and vocalizations in the natural communication of our closest primate relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). We tested whether gesture is the more flexible form of communication by measuring the strength of association between signals and specific behavioral contexts, comparing groups of both the same and different ape species. Subjects were two captive bonobo groups, a total of 13 individuals, and two captive chimpanzee groups, a total of 34 individuals. The study distinguished 31 manual gestures and 18 facial/vocal signals. It was found that homologous facial/vocal displays were used very similarly by both ape species, yet the same did not apply to gestures. Both within and between species gesture usage varied enormously. Moreover, bonobos showed greater flexibility in this regard than chimpanzees and were also the only species in which multimodal communication (i.e., combinations of gestures and facial/vocal signals) added to behavioral impact on the recipient. PMID:17470779

Culture in great apes: using intricate complexity in feeding skills to trace the evolutionary origin of human technical prowess.

PubMed

Byrne, Richard W

2007-04-29

Geographical cataloguing of traits, as used in human ethnography, has led to the description of 'culture' in some non-human great apes. Culture, in these terms, is detected as a pattern of local ignorance resulting from environmental constraints on knowledge transmission. However, in many cases, the geographical variations may alternatively be explained by ecology. Social transmission of information can reliably be identified in many other animal species, by experiment or distinctive patterns in distribution; but the excitement of detecting culture in great apes derives from the possibility of understanding the evolution of cumulative technological culture in humans. Given this interest, I argue that great ape research should concentrate on technically complex behaviour patterns that are ubiquitous within a local population; in these cases, a wholly non-social ontogeny is highly unlikely. From this perspective, cultural transmission has an important role in the elaborate feeding skills of all species of great ape, in conveying the 'gist' or organization of skills. In contrast, social learning is unlikely to be responsible for local stylistic differences, which are apt to reflect sensitive adaptations to ecology.

The Rudiments of Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canfield, John V.

1995-01-01

Discusses the question of whether nonhuman species, such as apes, possess rudimentary language, focusing on the ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Noam Chomsky in regard to the development of oral language in young children and apes. (51 references) (MDM)

Bonobos respond to distress in others: consolation across the age spectrum.

PubMed

Clay, Zanna; de Waal, Frans B M

2013-01-01

How animals respond to conflict provides key insights into the evolution of socio-cognitive and emotional capacities. Evidence from apes has shown that, after social conflicts, bystanders approach victims of aggression to offer stress-alleviating contact behavior, a phenomenon known as consolation. This other-orientated behavior depends on sensitivity to the other's emotional state, whereby the consoler acts to ameliorate the other's situation. We examined post-conflict interactions in bonobos (Pan paniscus) to identify the determinants of consolation and reconciliation. Thirty-six semi-free bonobos of all ages were observed at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, DR Congo, using standardized Post-conflict/Matched Control methods. Across age and sex classes, bonobos consoled victims and reconciled after conflicts using a suite of affiliative and socio-sexual behaviors including embracing, touching, and mounting. Juveniles were more likely to console than adults, challenging the assumption that comfort-giving rests on advanced cognitive mechanisms that emerge only with age. Mother-reared individuals were more likely to console than orphans, highlighting the role of rearing in emotional development. Consistent with previous studies, bystanders were more likely to console relatives or closely bonded partners. Effects of kinship, affiliation and rearing were similarly indicated in patterns of reconciliation. Nearby bystanders were significantly more likely to contact victims than more distal ones, and consolation was more likely in non-food contexts than during feeding. The results did not provide convincing evidence that bystander contacts served for self-protection or as substitutes for reconciliation. Overall, results indicate that a suite of social, developmental and contextual factors underlie consolation and reconciliation in bonobos and that a sensitivity to the emotions of others and the ability to provide appropriate consolatory behaviors emerges early in development.

A 3D quantitative comparison of trapezium and trapezoid relative articular and nonarticular surface areas in modern humans and great apes.

PubMed

Tocheri, M W; Razdan, A; Williams, R C; Marzke, M W

2005-11-01

The structure and functions of the modern human hand are critical components of what distinguishes Homo sapiens from the great apes (Gorilla, Pan, and Pongo). In this study, attention is focused on the trapezium and trapezoid, the two most lateral bones of the distal carpal row, in the four extant hominid genera, representing the first time they have been quantified and analyzed together as a morphological-functional complex. Our objective is to quantify the relative articular and nonarticular surface areas of these two bones and to test whether modern humans exhibit significant shape differences from the great apes, as predicted by previous qualitative analyses and the functional demands of differing manipulative and locomotor strategies. Modern humans were predicted to show larger relative first metacarpal and scaphoid surfaces on the trapezium because of the regular recruitment of the thumb during manipulative behaviors; alternatively, great apes were predicted to show larger relative second metacarpal and scaphoid surfaces on the trapezoid because of the functional demands on the hands during locomotor behaviors. Modern humans were also expected to exhibit larger relative mutual joint surfaces between the trapezoid and adjacent carpals than do the great apes because of assumed transverse loads generated by the functional demands of the modern human power grip. Using 3D bone models acquired through laser digitizing, the relative articular and nonarticular areas on each bone are quantified and compared. Multivariate analyses of these data clearly distinguish modern humans from the great apes. In total, the observed differences between modern humans and the great apes support morphological predictions based on the fact that this region of the human wrist is no longer involved in weight-bearing during locomotor behavior and is instead recruited solely for manipulative behaviors. The results provide the beginnings of a 3D comparative standard against which further extant and fossil primate wrist bones can be compared within the contexts of manipulative and locomotor behaviors.

A Novel trans-1-(9-Anthryl)-2-phenylethene Derivative Containing a Phenanthroimidazole Unit for Application in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Zhou, Nonglin; Wang, Shirong; Xiao, Yin; Li, Xianggao

2018-01-04

Aryl-substituted phenanthroimidazoles (PIs) have attracted tremendous attention in the field of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), because they are simple to synthesize and have excellent thermal properties, high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs), and bipolar properties. Herein, a novel blue-green emitting material, (E)-2-{4'-[2-(anthracen-9-yl)vinyl]-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl}-1-phenyl-1H-phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (APE-PPI), containing a t-APE [1-(9-anthryl)-2-phenylethene] core and a PI moiety was designed and synthesized. Owing to the PI skeleton, APE-PPI possesses high thermal stability and a high PLQY, and the compound exhibits bipolar transporting characteristics, which were identified by single-carrier devices. Nondoped blue-green OLEDs with APE-PPI as the emitting layer show emission at λ=508 nm, a full width at half maximum of 82 nm, a maximum brightness of 9042 cd m -2 , a maximum current efficiency of 2.14 cd A -1 , and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.26, 0.55). Furthermore, a white OLED (WOLED) was fabricated by employing APE-PPI as the blue-green emitting layer and 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-tert-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidin-4-yl-vinyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) doped in tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (Alq 3 ) as the red-green emitting layer. This WOLED exhibited a maximum brightness of 10029 cd m -2 , a maximum current efficiency of 16.05 cd A -1 , CIE coordinates of (0.47, 0.47), and a color rendering index (CRI) of 85. The high performance of APE-PPI-based devices suggests that the t-APE and PI combination can potentially be used to synthesize efficient electroluminescent materials for WOLEDs. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Lead facilitates foci formation in a Balb/c-3T3 two-step cell transformation model: role of Ape1 function.

PubMed

Hernández-Franco, Pablo; Silva, Martín; Franco, Rodrigo; Valverde, Mahara; Rojas, Emilio

2018-04-01

Several possible mechanisms have been examined to gain an understanding on the carcinogenic properties of lead, which include among others, mitogenesis, alteration of gene expression, oxidative damage, and inhibition of DNA repair. The aim of the present study was to explore if low concentrations of lead, relevant for human exposure, interfere with Ape1 function, a base excision repair enzyme, and its role in cell transformation in Balb/c-3T3. Lead acetate 5 and 30 μM induced APE1 mRNA and upregulation of protein expression. This increase in mRNA expression is consistent throughout the chronic exposure. Additionally, we also found an impaired function of Ape1 through molecular beacon-based assay. To evaluate the impact of lead on foci formation, a Balb/c-3T3 two-step transformation model was used. Balb/c-3T3 cells were pretreated 1 week with low concentrations of lead before induction of transformation with n-methyl-n-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) (0.5 μg/mL) and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) (0.1 μg/mL) (a classical two-step protocol). Morphological cell transformation increased in response to lead pretreatment that was paralleled with an increase in Ape1 mRNA and protein overexpression and an impairment of Ape1 activity and correlating with foci number. In addition, we found that lead pretreatment and MNNG (transformation initiator) increased DNA damage, determined by comet assay. Our data suggest that low lead concentrations (5, 30 μM) could play a facilitating role in cellular transformation, probably through the impaired function of housekeeping genes such as Ape1, leading to DNA damage accumulation and chromosomal instability, one of the most important hallmarks of cancer induced by chronic exposures.

Rapid improvement of renal function in patients with acute pulmonary embolism indicates favorable short term prognosis.

PubMed

Kostrubiec, Maciej; Łabyk, Andrzej; Pedowska-Włoszek, Justyna; Pacho, Szymon; Dzikowska-Diduch, Olga; Dul, Przemysław; Ciurzyński, Michał; Bienias, Piotr; Pruszczyk, Piotr

2012-09-01

Various clinical and biochemical parameters predict the prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary embolism(APE). Treatment of APE can improve a patient's hemodynamic status, restoring adequate peripheral organ perfusion. Therefore, we hypothesized that improvement of renal function can predict short term prognosis of APE patients. We evaluated 232 consecutive patients (94 men,aged 67 ± 18 years) with APE proven by spiral computer tomography. Blood samples were collected for creatinine assays on admission and 72 hours later, the glomerular filtration rate(eGFR) was estimated using the MDRD formula. During the first 72 hours, 6 subjects died, while during the first 30 days 24(10%) subjects died (APE mortality 8%). On admission eGFR<60 ml/min was present in 113 patients(49%) and after 72 hours in 85 patients(38%). In 26 patients(11%) eGFR on admission was <60 ml/min and renal function did not improve during subsequent 72 hours. In this group the 30-day all-cause and APE-related mortality rates were 27% and 23%, respectively, while serious adverse events occurred in 38% of them. 206 patients with eGFR>60 ml/min showed a more favorable prognosis (8% 30-day all-cause mortality) than subjects with eGFR<60 ml/min and a stable eGFR during the first 72 hours (27% mortality rate, p<0.003). Persistent renal dysfunction predicted all-cause and PE-related 30-day mortality (hazard risk 2.53(CI 95%:0.96-6.68),p=0.06 and 3.04(CI 95%:1.28-7.26),p=0.01, respectively). Approximately 50% of patients with APE have at least a moderately impaired renal function on admission. Renal function improves within 72 hours in patients with a good prognosis, while "persistent" renal dysfunction indicates an increased mortality. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accumulation of Peptidoglycan O-Acetylation Leads to Altered Cell Wall Biochemistry and Negatively Impacts Pathogenesis Factors of Campylobacter jejuni.

PubMed

Ha, Reuben; Frirdich, Emilisa; Sychantha, David; Biboy, Jacob; Taveirne, Michael E; Johnson, Jeremiah G; DiRita, Victor J; Vollmer, Waldemar; Clarke, Anthony J; Gaynor, Erin C

2016-10-21

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in the developed world. Despite its prevalence, its mechanisms of pathogenesis are poorly understood. Peptidoglycan (PG) is important for helical shape, colonization, and host-pathogen interactions in C. jejuni Therefore, changes in PG greatly impact the physiology of this organism. O-acetylation of peptidoglycan (OAP) is a bacterial phenomenon proposed to be important for proper cell growth, characterized by acetylation of the C6 hydroxyl group of N-acetylmuramic acid in the PG glycan backbone. The OAP gene cluster consists of a PG O-acetyltransferase A (patA) for translocation of acetate into the periplasm, a PG O-acetyltransferase B (patB) for O-acetylation, and an O-acetylpeptidoglycan esterase (ape1) for de-O-acetylation. In this study, reduced OAP in ΔpatA and ΔpatB had minimal impact on C. jejuni growth and fitness under the conditions tested. However, accumulation of OAP in Δape1 resulted in marked differences in PG biochemistry, including O-acetylation, anhydromuropeptide levels, and changes not expected to result directly from Ape1 activity. This suggests that OAP may be a form of substrate level regulation in PG biosynthesis. Ape1 acetylesterase activity was confirmed in vitro using p-nitrophenyl acetate and O-acetylated PG as substrates. In addition, Δape1 exhibited defects in pathogenesis-associated phenotypes, including cell shape, motility, biofilm formation, cell surface hydrophobicity, and sodium deoxycholate sensitivity. Δape1 was also impaired for chick colonization and adhesion, invasion, intracellular survival, and induction of IL-8 production in INT407 cells in vitro The importance of Ape1 in C. jejuni biology makes it a good candidate as an antimicrobial target. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo abelii) follow visual trails to locate hidden food.

PubMed

Völter, Christoph J; Call, Josep

2014-05-01

Whether nonhuman primates understand causal relations beyond mere associations is still a matter of debate. We presented all four species of nonhuman great apes (N = 36) with a choice between 2 opaque, upside down cups after displacing them out of sight from their starting positions. Crucially, 1 of them had left a yogurt trail behind it. Great apes spontaneously used the trail to select the yogurt baited cup. Follow-up experiments demonstrated that chimpanzees distinguished trails based on the temporal order of cause and effect by ignoring trails that were already present before the reward was hidden. Additionally, chimpanzees did not select cups based on the amount of yogurt near them but instead preferred cups that signaled the endpoint of the trail. We conclude that apes' choices reveal sensitivity to a causal relation between cause (reward) and effect (trail) including their temporal order. ©2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions in 777 great apes: implications for the evolution of handedness in hominins.

PubMed

Hopkins, William D; Phillips, Kimberley A; Bania, Amanda; Calcutt, Sarah E; Gardner, Molly; Russell, Jamie; Schaeffer, Jennifer; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V; Ross, Stephen R; Schapiro, Steven J

2011-05-01

Whether or not nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable scientific debate. Here, we examined handedness for coordinated bimanual actions in a sample of 777 great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. We found population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, but left-handedness in orangutans. Directional biases in handedness were consistent across independent samples of apes within each genus. We suggest that, contrary to previous claims, population-level handedness is evident in great apes but differs among species as a result of ecological adaptations associated with posture and locomotion. We further suggest that historical views of nonhuman primate handedness have been too anthropocentric, and we advocate for a larger evolutionary framework for the consideration of handedness and other aspects of hemispheric specialization among primates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Filler Content and Chemical Modification on Mechanical Properties of Polylactic Acid/Polymethyl Methacrylate/Nypa Fruticans Husk Biocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamad Syahmie, MR; Pei Leng, T.; Nurul Najwa, Zabidi

2018-03-01

The main purpose of incorporating Nypa fruticans husks (NFH) into Polylactic acid (PLA)/Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is to decrease the costs and enhanced the properties of the biocomposites. 3-Aminopropyl Triethoxysilane (3-APE) was used as coupling agent. The effect of NFH content and 3-APE on the mechanical properties and morphology of the biocomposites were investigated. Results show that the effect of NFH content increased Young’s modulus but decreased the tensile strength and elongation at break of PLA/PMMA/NFH biocomposites. However, silanized biocomposites using 3-APE) was found to enhanced the tensile strength and Young’s modulus but decreased the elongation at break of the silanized biocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of the tensile fracture surface of the biocomposites indicated that the used of 3-APE as couling agent improved the interfacial interaction netween NFH and PLA/PMMA blends.

Chimpanzee fauna isotopes provide new interpretations of fossil ape and hominin ecologies

PubMed Central

Nelson, Sherry V.

2013-01-01

Carbon and oxygen stable isotopes within modern and fossil tooth enamel record the aspects of an animal's diet and habitat use. This investigation reports the first isotopic analyses of enamel from a large chimpanzee community and associated fauna, thus providing a means of comparing fossil ape and early hominin palaeoecologies with those of a modern ape. Within Kibale National Park forest, oxygen isotopes differentiate primate niches, allowing for the first isotopic reconstructions of degree of frugivory versus folivory as well as use of arboreal versus terrestrial resources. In a comparison of modern and fossil community isotopic profiles, results indicate that Sivapithecus, a Miocene ape from Pakistan, fed in the forest canopy, as do chimpanzees, but inhabited a forest with less continuous canopy or fed more on leaves. Ardipithecus, an early hominin from Ethiopia, fed both arboreally and terrestrially in a more open habitat than inhabited by chimpanzees. PMID:24197413

Bilateral asymmetry of humeral torsion and length in African apes and humans.

PubMed

Barros, Anna; Soligo, Christophe

2013-01-01

Few studies have directly compared human and African ape upper limb skeletal asymmetries despite the potential such comparisons have for understanding the origins of functional lateralization in humans and non-human primates. Here, we report the magnitude and direction of asymmetries in humeral torsion and humeral length in paired humeri of 40 Gorilla gorilla, 40 Pan troglodytes and 40 Homo sapiens. We test whether absolute and directional asymmetries differ between measurements, species and sexes. Our results show that humans are unique in being lateralized to the right for both measurements, consistent with human population-level handedness patterns, while apes show no significant directionality at the species level in either measurement. However, absolute torsion asymmetries in apes occur in the same magnitude as in humans, suggesting the existence of functional lateralization at the individual level. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel

You are not alone: relatedness reduces adverse effects of state orientation on well-being under stress.

PubMed

Chatterjee, Monischa B; Baumann, Nicola; Osborne, Danny

2013-04-01

A low ability to self-regulate emotions (state orientation) is associated with reduced well-being--especially under stress. Until now, research has approached this topic from an asocial perspective that views the self as devoid from relatedness concerns. However, people are social creatures who benefit from their relationships with others. As such, we expected that personally valuing (Study 1) and experimentally priming (Study 2) a sense of relatedness with others would act as a buffer against stress-related impairments in state-oriented individuals. In Study 1, high (vs. low) benevolence values removed the adverse effect of state orientation on well-being found under stressful life circumstances. In Study 2, focusing on similarities (vs. differences) while comparing oneself with a friend removed the adverse effect of state orientation on recovery from a negative mood induction. Our findings suggest that individuals with low self-regulatory competencies may profit from valuing and directing their attention toward their relatedness with others.

Facial Orientation and Facial Shape in Extant Great Apes: A Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Covariation

PubMed Central

Neaux, Dimitri; Guy, Franck; Gilissen, Emmanuel; Coudyzer, Walter; Vignaud, Patrick; Ducrocq, Stéphane

2013-01-01

The organization of the bony face is complex, its morphology being influenced in part by the rest of the cranium. Characterizing the facial morphological variation and craniofacial covariation patterns in extant hominids is fundamental to the understanding of their evolutionary history. Numerous studies on hominid facial shape have proposed hypotheses concerning the relationship between the anterior facial shape, facial block orientation and basicranial flexion. In this study we test these hypotheses in a sample of adult specimens belonging to three extant hominid genera (Homo, Pan and Gorilla). Intraspecific variation and covariation patterns are analyzed using geometric morphometric methods and multivariate statistics, such as partial least squared on three-dimensional landmarks coordinates. Our results indicate significant intraspecific covariation between facial shape, facial block orientation and basicranial flexion. Hominids share similar characteristics in the relationship between anterior facial shape and facial block orientation. Modern humans exhibit a specific pattern in the covariation between anterior facial shape and basicranial flexion. This peculiar feature underscores the role of modern humans' highly-flexed basicranium in the overall integration of the cranium. Furthermore, our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a relationship between the reduction of the value of the cranial base angle and a downward rotation of the facial block in modern humans, and to a lesser extent in chimpanzees. PMID:23441232

The vertebral formula of the last common ancestor of African apes and humans.

PubMed

McCollum, Melanie A; Rosenman, Burt A; Suwa, Gen; Meindl, Richard S; Lovejoy, C Owen

2010-03-15

The modal number of lumbar vertebrae in modern humans is five. It varies between three and four in extant African apes (mean=3.5). Because both chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) possess the same distributions of thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae, it has been assumed from parsimony that the last common ancestor (LCA) of African apes and humans possessed a similarly short lower back. This "short-backed LCA" scenario has recently been viewed favorably in an analysis of the intra- and interspecific variation in axial formulas observed among African apes and humans (Pilbeam, 2004. J Exp Zool 302B:241-267). However, the number of bonobo (Pan paniscus) specimens in that study was small (N=17). Here we reconsider vertebral type and number in the LCA in light of an expanded P. paniscus sample as well as evidence provided by the human fossil record. The precaudal (pre-coccygeal) axial column of bonobos differs from those of chimpanzees and gorillas in displaying one additional vertebra as well as significantly different combinations of sacral, lumbar, and thoracic vertebrae. These findings, along with the six-segmented lumbar column of early Australopithecus and early Homo, suggest that the LCA possessed a long axial column and long lumbar spine and that reduction in the lumbar column occurred independently in humans and in each ape clade, and continued after separation of the two species of Pan as well. Such an explanation is strongly congruent with additional details of lumbar column reduction and lower back stabilization in African apes.

Associations between the incidence of antiphosphatidylserine and antiphosphatidylethanolamine antibodies and clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus.

PubMed

Butkiewicz, Filip; Kaszuba, Michał; Brzeziński, Michał; Iżbicki, Jan; Kubiś, Marek; Lopiński, Hubert; Borowiak, Michał; Szelepajło, Michał; Fischer, Katarzyna; Fliciński, Jacek

2014-01-01

Antiphosphatidylethanolamine antibodies (aPE) and antiphosphatidylserine antibodies (aPS) belong to a group of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) that occur in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to examine associations between the elevated serum concentration of aPE/aPS, the clinical manifestations of SLE, and the presence of other autoantibodies. The study group included 71 patients with SLE. The control group comprised 36 healthy volunteers. In both groups, serum aPS and aPE concentrations were measured with enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assays. Clinical data, including clinical manifestations and the laboratory markers of SLE, were obtained from medical records. The study revealed a higher prevalence of aPE in patients with SLE than in controls (54.93% vs. 5.56%). aPS were observed in the study group less frequently compared with aPE (12.68% vs. 54.93%) and were absent in controls. Anticardiolipin antibodies and APS were found to be associated with the presence of aPS. Thrombocytopenia, Raynaud phenomenon, and myocardial infarction were observed more frequently among aPS‑positive patients. The presence of aPE was also associated with the occurrence of mucosal ulcers in the mouth cavity. A positive correlation between aPS and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was also observed. The serum concentration of aPE inversely correlated with red blood cell count and positively with ESR. The presence of aPS in patients with SLE is associated with thrombocytopenia, Raynaud phenomenon, and cardiac complications.

Practice makes perfect: Performance optimisation in 'arboreal' parkour athletes illuminates the evolutionary ecology of great ape anatomy.

PubMed

Halsey, Lewis G; Coward, Samuel R L; Crompton, Robin H; Thorpe, Susannah K S

2017-02-01

An animal's size is central to its ecology, yet remarkably little is known about the selective pressures that drive this trait. A particularly compelling example is how ancestral apes evolved large body mass in such a physically and energetically challenging environment as the forest canopy, where weight-bearing branches and lianas are flexible, irregular and discontinuous, and the majority of preferred foods are situated on the most flexible branches at the periphery of tree crowns. To date the issue has been intractable due to a lack of relevant fossil material, the limited capacity of the fossil record to reconstruct an animal's behavioural ecology and the inability to measure energy consumption in freely moving apes. We studied the oxygen consumption of parkour athletes while they traversed an arboreal-like course as an elite model ape, to test the ecomorphological and behavioural mechanisms by which a large-bodied ape could optimize its energetic performance during tree-based locomotion. Our results show that familiarity with the arboreal-like course allowed the athletes to substantially reduce their energy expenditure. Furthermore, athletes with larger arm spans and shorter legs were particularly adept at finding energetic savings. Our results flesh out the scanty fossil record to offer evidence that long, strong arms, broad chests and a strong axial system, combined with the frequent use of uniform branch-to-branch arboreal pathways, were critical to off-setting the mechanical and energetic demands of large mass in ancestral apes. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of a prediction model for measurement variability of lung nodule volumetry in patients with pulmonary metastases.

PubMed

Hwang, Eui Jin; Goo, Jin Mo; Kim, Jihye; Park, Sang Joon; Ahn, Soyeon; Park, Chang Min; Shin, Yeong-Gil

2017-08-01

To develop a prediction model for the variability range of lung nodule volumetry and validate the model in detecting nodule growth. For model development, 50 patients with metastatic nodules were prospectively included. Two consecutive CT scans were performed to assess volumetry for 1,586 nodules. Nodule volume, surface voxel proportion (SVP), attachment proportion (AP) and absolute percentage error (APE) were calculated for each nodule and quantile regression analyses were performed to model the 95% percentile of APE. For validation, 41 patients who underwent metastasectomy were included. After volumetry of resected nodules, sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of metastatic nodules were compared between two different thresholds of nodule growth determination: uniform 25% volume change threshold and individualized threshold calculated from the model (estimated 95% percentile APE). SVP and AP were included in the final model: Estimated 95% percentile APE = 37.82 · SVP + 48.60 · AP-10.87. In the validation session, the individualized threshold showed significantly higher sensitivity for diagnosis of metastatic nodules than the uniform 25% threshold (75.0% vs. 66.0%, P = 0.004) CONCLUSION: Estimated 95% percentile APE as an individualized threshold of nodule growth showed greater sensitivity in diagnosing metastatic nodules than a global 25% threshold. • The 95 % percentile APE of a particular nodule can be predicted. • Estimated 95 % percentile APE can be utilized as an individualized threshold. • More sensitive diagnosis of metastasis can be made with an individualized threshold. • Tailored nodule management can be provided during nodule growth follow-up.

Review and hypothesis: does Graves' disease develop in non-human great apes?

PubMed

McLachlan, Sandra M; Alpi, Kristine; Rapoport, Basil

2011-12-01

Graves' disease, caused by stimulatory thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) autoantibodies, has not been observed in animals. In contrast, Hashimoto's thyroiditis develops in chickens, rats, mice, dogs, and marmosets. Attempts to induce an immune response in mice to the luteinizing-hormone receptor suggested that autoantigen glycosylation was one parameter involved in breaking self-tolerance. Over evolution, TSHR glycosylation increased from three asparagine-linked-glycans (N-glycans) in fish to six N-glycans in humans and great apes. All other placental mammals lack one N-glycan in the shed TSHR A-subunit, the primary Graves' disease autoantigen. We hypothesized that (a) lesser TSHR A-subunit glycosylation reduces immunogenicity, accounting for the absence of Graves' disease in most placental mammals; (b) due to human-like A-subunit glycosylation, Graves' disease might arise in great apes. Here, we review and analyze the literature on this subject and report the results of a survey of veterinarians at primate centers and zoos in North America. Previous experimental data from induced TSHR antibodies in mice support a role for A-subunit glycosylation in breaking self-tolerance. An extensive search of the great-ape literature revealed five reports of noncongenital thyroid dysfunction, four with hypothyroidism and one with hyperthyroidism. The latter was a gorilla who was treated with anti-thyroid drugs but is now deceased. Neither serum nor thyroid tissue from this gorilla were available for analysis. The survey of veterinarians revealed that none of the 979 chimpanzees in primate research centers had a diagnosis of noncongenital thyroid dysfunction and among ∼1100 great apes (gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees) in U.S. zoos, only three were hypothyroid, and none were hyperthyroid. Graves' disease appears to be either very rare or does not occur in great apes based on the literature and a survey of veterinarians. Although the available data do not advance our hypothesis, there is a paucity of information regarding thyroid function tests and thyroid autoantibodies in the great apes In addition, these primates may be protected against TSHR autoimmunity by the absence of genetic polymorphisms and putative environmental triggers. Finally, larger numbers of great apes need to be followed, and tests of thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies be performed, to confirm that spontaneous Graves' disease is restricted to humans.

Variation in the molecular clock of primates.

PubMed

Moorjani, Priya; Amorim, Carlos Eduardo G; Arndt, Peter F; Przeworski, Molly

2016-09-20

Events in primate evolution are often dated by assuming a constant rate of substitution per unit time, but the validity of this assumption remains unclear. Among mammals, it is well known that there exists substantial variation in yearly substitution rates. Such variation is to be expected from differences in life history traits, suggesting it should also be found among primates. Motivated by these considerations, we analyze whole genomes from 10 primate species, including Old World Monkeys (OWMs), New World Monkeys (NWMs), and apes, focusing on putatively neutral autosomal sites and controlling for possible effects of biased gene conversion and methylation at CpG sites. We find that substitution rates are up to 64% higher in lineages leading from the hominoid-NWM ancestor to NWMs than to apes. Within apes, rates are ∼2% higher in chimpanzees and ∼7% higher in the gorilla than in humans. Substitution types subject to biased gene conversion show no more variation among species than those not subject to it. Not all mutation types behave similarly, however; in particular, transitions at CpG sites exhibit a more clocklike behavior than do other types, presumably because of their nonreplicative origin. Thus, not only the total rate, but also the mutational spectrum, varies among primates. This finding suggests that events in primate evolution are most reliably dated using CpG transitions. Taking this approach, we estimate the human and chimpanzee divergence time is 12.1 million years,​ and the human and gorilla divergence time is 15.1 million years​.

Evolutionary history and metabolic insights of ancient mammalian uricases

PubMed Central

Kratzer, James T.; Lanaspa, Miguel A.; Murphy, Michael N.; Cicerchi, Christina; Graves, Christina L.; Tipton, Peter A.; Ortlund, Eric A.; Johnson, Richard J.; Gaucher, Eric A.

2014-01-01

Uricase is an enzyme involved in purine catabolism and is found in all three domains of life. Curiously, uricase is not functional in some organisms despite its role in converting highly insoluble uric acid into 5-hydroxyisourate. Of particular interest is the observation that apes, including humans, cannot oxidize uric acid, and it appears that multiple, independent evolutionary events led to the silencing or pseudogenization of the uricase gene in ancestral apes. Various arguments have been made to suggest why natural selection would allow the accumulation of uric acid despite the physiological consequences of crystallized monosodium urate acutely causing liver/kidney damage or chronically causing gout. We have applied evolutionary models to understand the history of primate uricases by resurrecting ancestral mammalian intermediates before the pseudogenization events of this gene family. Resurrected proteins reveal that ancestral uricases have steadily decreased in activity since the last common ancestor of mammals gave rise to descendent primate lineages. We were also able to determine the 3D distribution of amino acid replacements as they accumulated during evolutionary history by crystallizing a mammalian uricase protein. Further, ancient and modern uricases were stably transfected into HepG2 liver cells to test one hypothesis that uricase pseudogenization allowed ancient frugivorous apes to rapidly convert fructose into fat. Finally, pharmacokinetics of an ancient uricase injected in rodents suggest that our integrated approach provides the foundation for an evolutionarily-engineered enzyme capable of treating gout and preventing tumor lysis syndrome in human patients. PMID:24550457

Selecting Surrogates for an Alkylphenol Ethoxylate Analytical Method in Sewage and Soil Matrices

EPA Science Inventory

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) are nonionic surfactants commonly used in industrial detergents. These products contain complex mixtures of branched and linear chains. APEs and their degradation products, alkylphenols, are highly toxic to aquatic organisms, potentially estrogeni...

Alternative therapeutic options for medical management of epilepsy in apes.

PubMed

Gerlach, Trevor; Clyde, Victoria L; Morris, George L; Bell, Barbara; Wallace, Roberta S

2011-06-01

Phenobarbital has been the primary antiepileptic drug used in primates, but the dosage required for seizure control is frequently associated with significant side effects. Newer antiepileptic drugs and adjunctive therapies currently being used in human medicine provide additional options for treatment of nonhuman primates. This report describes different drug regimes used for control of epileptic seizures in apes at the Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.), including the addition of acetazolamide to phenobarbital, levetiracetam, carbamazepine, and the use of extended cycle oral contraceptives to assist seizure control in female apes with catamenial epilepsy.

Activation of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease in human cells by reactive oxygen species and its correlation with their adaptive response to genotoxicity of free radicals

PubMed Central

Ramana, Chilakamarti V.; Boldogh, Istvan; Izumi, Tadahide; Mitra, Sankar

1998-01-01

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease (APE; EC 4.2.99.18) plays a central role in repair of DNA damage due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) because its DNA 3′-phosphoesterase activity removes 3′ blocking groups in DNA that are generated by DNA glycosylase/AP-lyases during removal of oxidized bases and by direct ROS reaction with DNA. The major human APE (APE-1) gene is activated selectively by sublethal levels of a variety of ROS and ROS generators, including ionizing radiation, but not by other genotoxicants—e.g., UV light and alkylating agents. Increased expression of APE mRNA and protein was observed both in the HeLa S3 tumor line and in WI 38 primary fibroblasts, and it was accompanied by translocation of the endonuclease to the nucleus. ROS-treated cells showed a significant increase in resistance to the cytotoxicity of such ROS generators as H2O2 and bleomycin, but not to UV light. This “adaptive response” appears to result from enhanced repair of cytotoxic DNA lesions due to an increased activity of APE-1, which may be limiting in the base excision repair process for ROS-induced toxic lesions. PMID:9560228

Beyond eugenics: the forgotten scandal of hybridizing humans and apes.

PubMed

Etkind, Alexander

2008-06-01

This paper examines the available evidence on one of the most radical ideas in the history of eugenics and utopianism. In the mid-1920s, the zoology professor Ilia Ivanov submitted to the Soviet government a project for hybridizing humans and apes by means of artificial insemination. He received substantial financing and organized expeditions to Africa to catch apes for his experiments. His project caused an international sensation. The American Association for the Advancement of Atheism announced its fund-raising campaign to support Ivanov's project but gave it a scandalously racist interpretation. Ivanov's own motivation remained unclear, as did the motivation of those in the Bolshevik government who supported Ivanov until his arrest in 1930. This paper discusses three hypothetical reasons for Ivanov's adventure: first, hybridization between humans and apes, should it be successful, would support the atheist propaganda of the Bolsheviks; second, regardless of the success of hybridization, Ivanov would catch and bring to Russia apes, which were necessary for the rejuvenation programs that were fashionable among the Bolshevik elite; and third, hybridization, should it be successful, would pave the way to the New Socialist Man whose 'construction by scientific means' was the official purpose of the Bolsheviks. Ivanov's ideas were arguably important for the American proponent of reform eugenics, Herman Muller, and for the Soviet anthropologist Boris Porshnev.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Structure-Activity Relationships of a Novel Class of Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 1 Inhibitors

PubMed Central

Rai, Ganesha; Vyjayanti, Vaddadi N.; Dorjsuren, Dorjbal; Simeonov, Anton; Jadhav, Ajit; Wilson, David M.; Maloney, David J.

2012-01-01

APE1 is an essential protein that operates in the base excision repair (BER) pathway and is responsible for ≥95% of the total apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease activity in human cells. BER is a major pathway that copes with DNA damage induced by several anti-cancer agents, including ionizing radiation and temozolomide. Overexpression of APE1 and enhanced AP endonuclease activity has been linked to increased resistance of tumor cells to treatment with monofunctional alkylators, implicating inhibition of APE1 as a valid strategy for cancer therapy. We report herein the results of a focused medicinal chemistry effort around a novel APE1 inhibitor, N-(3-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-6-isopropyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothieno[2,3-c]pyridin-2-yl)acetamide (3). Compound 3 and related analogs exhibit single-digit µM activity against the purified APE1 enzyme, comparable activity in HeLa whole cell extract assays, and potentiate the cytotoxicity of the alkylating agents methylmethane sulfonate and temozolomide. Moreover, this class of compounds possesses a generally favorable in vitro ADME profile, along with good exposure levels in plasma and brain following intraperitoneal dosing (30 mg/kg body weight) in mice. PMID:22455312

Dissecting DNA repair in adult high grade gliomas for patient stratification in the post-genomic era

PubMed Central

Perry, Christina; Agarwal, Devika; Abdel-Fatah, Tarek M.A.; Lourdusamy, Anbarasu; Grundy, Richard; Auer, Dorothee T.; Walker, David; Lakhani, Ravi; Scott, Ian S.; Chan, Stephen; Ball, Graham; Madhusudan, Srinivasan

2014-01-01

Deregulation of multiple DNA repair pathways may contribute to aggressive biology and therapy resistance in gliomas. We evaluated transcript levels of 157 genes involved in DNA repair in an adult glioblastoma Test set (n=191) and validated in ‘The Cancer Genome Atlas’ (TCGA) cohort (n=508). A DNA repair prognostic index model was generated. Artificial neural network analysis (ANN) was conducted to investigate global gene interactions. Protein expression by immunohistochemistry was conducted in 61 tumours. A fourteen DNA repair gene expression panel was associated with poor survival in Test and TCGA cohorts. A Cox multivariate model revealed APE1, NBN, PMS2, MGMT and PTEN as independently associated with poor prognosis. A DNA repair prognostic index incorporating APE1, NBN, PMS2, MGMT and PTEN stratified patients in to three prognostic sub-groups with worsening survival. APE1, NBN, PMS2, MGMT and PTEN also have predictive significance in patients who received chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. ANN analysis of APE1, NBN, PMS2, MGMT and PTEN revealed interactions with genes involved in transcription, hypoxia and metabolic regulation. At the protein level, low APE1 and low PTEN remain associated with poor prognosis. In conclusion, multiple DNA repair pathways operate to influence biology and clinical outcomes in adult high grade gliomas. PMID:25026297

Comparative approaches to studying strategy: towards an evolutionary account of primate decision making.

PubMed

Brosnan, Sarah F; Beran, Michael J; Parrish, Audrey E; Price, Sara A; Wilson, Bart J

2013-07-18

How do primates, humans included, deal with novel problems that arise in interactions with other group members? Despite much research regarding how animals and humans solve social problems, few studies have utilized comparable procedures, outcomes, or measures across different species. Thus, it is difficult to piece together the evolution of decision making, including the roots from which human economic decision making emerged. Recently, a comparative body of decision making research has emerged, relying largely on the methodology of experimental economics in order to address these questions in a cross-species fashion. Experimental economics is an ideal method of inquiry for this approach. It is a well-developed method for distilling complex decision making involving multiple conspecifics whose decisions are contingent upon one another into a series of simple decision choices. This allows these decisions to be compared across species and contexts. In particular, our group has used this approach to investigate coordination in New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and great apes (including humans), using identical methods. We find that in some cases there are remarkable continuities of outcome, as when some pairs in all species solved a coordination game, the Assurance game. On the other hand, we also find that these similarities in outcomes are likely driven by differences in underlying cognitive mechanisms. New World monkeys required exogenous information about their partners' choices in order to solve the task, indicating that they were using a matching strategy. Old World monkeys, on the other hand, solved the task without exogenous cues, leading to investigations into what mechanisms may be underpinning their responses (e.g., reward maximization, strategy formation, etc.). Great apes showed a strong experience effect, with cognitively enriched apes following what appears to be a strategy. Finally, humans were able to solve the task with or without exogenous cues. However, when given the chance to do so, they incorporated an additional mechanism unavailable to the other primates - language - to coordinate outcomes with their partner. We discuss how these results inform not only comparative psychology, but also evolutionary psychology, as they provide an understanding of the evolution of human economic behavior, and the evolution of decision making more broadly.

A Programmer-Oriented Approach to Safe Concurrency

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-05-01

and leaving a synchronized block additionally has effects on the management of memory values in the JMM. The practical outcome of these effects is...object-oriented effects system; (3) analysis to track the association of locks with regions, (4) policy descriptions for allowable method...Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 4 An Object-Oriented Effects System 45 4.1 Regions Identify State

The Functional Anatomy of the Carpometacarpal Complex in Anthropoids and Its Implications for the Evolution of the Hominoid Hand.

PubMed

Selby, Michael S; Simpson, Scott W; Lovejoy, C Owen

2016-05-01

Previously, we described several features of the carpometacarpal joints in extant large-bodied apes that are likely adaptations to the functional demands of vertical climbing and suspension. We observed that all hominids, including modern humans and the 4.4-million-year-old hominid Ardipithecus ramidus, lacked these features. Here, we assess the uniqueness of these features in a large sample of monkey, ape, and human hands. These new data provide additional insights into the functional adaptations and evolution of the anthropoid hand. Our survey highlights a series of anatomical adaptations that restrict motion between the second and third metacarpals (MC2 and MC3) and their associated carpals in extant apes, achieved via joint reorganization and novel energy dissipation mechanisms. Their hamate-MC4 and -MC5 joint surface morphologies suggest limited mobility, at least in Pan. Gibbons and spider monkeys have several characters (angled MC3, complex capitate-MC3 joint topography, variably present capitate-MC3 ligaments) that suggest functional convergence in response to suspensory locomotion. Baboons have carpometacarpal morphology suggesting flexion/extension at these joints beyond that observed in most other Old World monkeys, probably as an energy dissipating mechanism minimizing collision forces during terrestrial locomotion. All hominids lack these specializations of the extant great apes, suggesting that vertical climbing was never a central feature of our ancestral locomotor repertoire. Furthermore, the reinforced carpometacarpus of vertically climbing African apes was likely appropriated for knuckle-walking in concert with other novel potential energy dissipating mechanisms. The most parsimonious explanation of the structural similarity of these carpometacarpal specializations in great apes is that they evolved independently. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Extant ape dental topography and its implications for reconstructing the emergence of early Homo.

PubMed

Berthaume, Michael A; Schroer, Kes

2017-11-01

Dental topography reflects diet accurately in several extant and extinct mammalian clades. However, dental topographic dietary reconstructions have high success rates only when closely related taxa are compared. Given the dietary breadth that exists among extant apes and likely existed among fossil hominins, dental topographic values from many species and subspecies of great apes are necessary for making dietary inferences about the hominin fossil record. Here, we present the results of one metric of dental topography, Dirichlet normal energy (DNE), for seven groups of great apes (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes troglodytes and schweinfurthii, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Gorilla beringei graueri and beringei). Dirichlet normal energy was inadequate at differentiating folivores from frugivores, but was adequate at predicting which groups had more fibrous diets among sympatric African apes. Character displacement analyses confirmed there is substantial dental topographic and relative molar size (M 1 :M 2 ratio; length, width, and area) divergence in sympatric apes when compared to their allopatric counterparts, but character displacement is only present in relative molar size when DNE is also considered. Presence of character displacement is likely due to indirect competition over similar food resources. Assuming similar ecological conditions in the Plio-Pleistocene, the derived masticatory apparatuses of the robust australopiths and early Homo may be due to indirect competition over dietary resources between the taxa, causing dietary niche partitioning. Our results imply that dental topography cannot be used to predict dietary categories in fossil hominins without consideration of ecological factors, such as dietary and geographic overlap. In addition, our results may open new avenues for understanding the community compositions of early hominins and the formation of specific ecological niches among hominin taxa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of differences in brain morphology in humans as compared to extant apes.

PubMed

Aldridge, Kristina

2011-01-01

Although human evolution is characterized by a vast increase in brain size, it is not clear whether or not certain regions of the brain are enlarged disproportionately in humans, or how this enlargement relates to differences in overall neural morphology. The aim of this study is to determine whether or not there are specific suites of features that distinguish the morphology of the human brain from that of apes. The study sample consists of whole brain, in vivo magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and five ape species (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos). Twenty-nine 3D landmarks, including surface and internal features of the brain were located on 3D MRI reconstructions of each individual using MEASURE software. Landmark coordinate data were scaled for differences in size and analyzed using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis (EDMA) to statistically compare the brains of each non-human ape species to the human sample. Results of analyses show both a pattern of brain morphology that is consistently different between all apes and humans, as well as patterns that differ among species. Further, both the consistent and species-specific patterns include cortical and subcortical features. The pattern that remains consistent across species indicates a morphological reorganization of 1) relationships between cortical and subcortical frontal structures, 2) expansion of the temporal lobe and location of the amygdala, and 3) expansion of the anterior parietal region. Additionally, results demonstrate that, although there is a pattern of morphology that uniquely defines the human brain, there are also patterns that uniquely differentiate human morphology from the morphology of each non-human ape species, indicating that reorganization of neural morphology occurred at the evolutionary divergence of each of these groups. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic management of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus--associated acute pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Fusco, Nicholas M; Toussaint, Kimberly A; Prescott, William Allan

2015-04-01

To review the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-associated acute pulmonary exacerbations (APEs) in cystic fibrosis (CF). A search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Clinicaltrials.gov databases through November 2014 was conducted using the search terms Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, pulmonary exacerbations, and cystic fibrosis. All English-language research articles, case reports, and case series were evaluated. A total of 185 articles were identified related to MRSA and CF; 30 articles that studied treatments of MRSA APE in CF were included. The persistent presence of MRSA in the respiratory tract of patients with CF has been associated with higher morbidity and an increased risk of death. Limited clinical data exist supporting the efficacy of any specific antimicrobial currently available for the treatment of APE secondary to MRSA. Data extrapolated from other populations suggest that vancomycin and linezolid are appropriate first-line treatment options for the treatment of APE secondary to MRSA. Second-line options include doxycycline or minocycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, each of which may be useful in patients coinfected with other respiratory pathogens, for which they may provide overlapping coverage. Ceftaroline and ceftobiprole are newer antibiotics that appear to have a potential role in the treatment of APE in CF, but the latter is not currently available to the US market. Although potentially useful, clindamycin is limited by high rates of resistance, telavancin is limited by its toxicity profile, and tigecycline is limited by a lack of demonstrated efficacy for infections that are similar to that seen in the CF population. Studies investigating the clinical utility of the above-cited antibiotics for APE in CF secondary to MRSA are desperately needed to broaden the treatment armamentarium for this medical condition. © The Author(s) 2015.

What’s Special about Human Imitation? A Comparison with Enculturated Apes

PubMed Central

Subiaul, Francys

2016-01-01

What, if anything, is special about human imitation? An evaluation of enculturated apes’ imitation skills, a “best case scenario” of non-human apes’ imitation performance, reveals important similarities and differences between this special population of apes and human children. Candidates for shared imitation mechanisms include the ability to imitate various familiar transitive responses and object–object actions that involve familiar tools. Candidates for uniquely derived imitation mechanisms include: imitating novel transitive actions and novel tool-using responses as well as imitating opaque or intransitive gestures, regardless of familiarity. While the evidence demonstrates that enculturated apes outperform non-enculturated apes and perform more like human children, all apes, regardless of rearing history, generally excel at imitating familiar, over-rehearsed responses and are poor, relative to human children, at imitating novel, opaque or intransitive responses. Given the similarities between the sensory and motor systems of preschool age human children and non-human apes, it is unlikely that differences in sensory input and/or motor-output alone explain the observed discontinuities in imitation performance. The special rearing history of enculturated apes—including imitation-specific training—further diminishes arguments suggesting that differences are experience-dependent. Here, it is argued that such differences are best explained by distinct, specialized mechanisms that have evolved for copying rules and responses in particular content domains. Uniquely derived social and imitation learning mechanisms may represent adaptations for learning novel communicative gestures and complex tool-use. Given our species’ dependence on both language and tools, mechanisms that accelerated learning in these domains are likely to have faced intense selective pressures, starting with the earliest of human ancestors. PMID:27399786

Plasmodium falciparum-like parasites infecting wild apes in southern Cameroon do not represent a recurrent source of human malaria

PubMed Central

Sundararaman, Sesh A.; Liu, Weimin; Keele, Brandon F.; Learn, Gerald H.; Bittinger, Kyle; Mouacha, Fatima; Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Manske, Magnus; Sherrill-Mix, Scott; Li, Yingying; Malenke, Jordan A.; Delaporte, Eric; Laurent, Christian; Mpoudi Ngole, Eitel; Kwiatkowski, Dominic P.; Shaw, George M.; Rayner, Julian C.; Peeters, Martine; Sharp, Paul M.; Bushman, Frederic D.; Hahn, Beatrice H.

2013-01-01

Wild-living chimpanzees and gorillas harbor a multitude of Plasmodium species, including six of the subgenus Laverania, one of which served as the progenitor of Plasmodium falciparum. Despite the magnitude of this reservoir, it is unknown whether apes represent a source of human infections. Here, we used Plasmodium species-specific PCR, single-genome amplification, and 454 sequencing to screen humans from remote areas of southern Cameroon for ape Laverania infections. Among 1,402 blood samples, we found 1,000 to be Plasmodium mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) positive, all of which contained human parasites as determined by sequencing and/or restriction enzyme digestion. To exclude low-abundance infections, we subjected 514 of these samples to 454 sequencing, targeting a region of the mtDNA genome that distinguishes ape from human Laverania species. Using algorithms specifically developed to differentiate rare Plasmodium variants from 454-sequencing error, we identified single and mixed-species infections with P. falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, and/or Plasmodium ovale. However, none of the human samples contained ape Laverania parasites, including the gorilla precursor of P. falciparum. To characterize further the diversity of P. falciparum in Cameroon, we used single-genome amplification to amplify 3.4-kb mtDNA fragments from 229 infected humans. Phylogenetic analysis identified 62 new variants, all of which clustered with extant P. falciparum, providing further evidence that P. falciparum emerged following a single gorilla-to-human transmission. Thus, unlike Plasmodium knowlesi-infected macaques in southeast Asia, African apes harboring Laverania parasites do not seem to serve as a recurrent source of human malaria, a finding of import to ongoing control and eradication measures. PMID:23569255

The Time Scale of Recombination Rate Evolution in Great Apes

PubMed Central

Stevison, Laurie S.; Woerner, August E.; Kidd, Jeffrey M.; Kelley, Joanna L.; Veeramah, Krishna R.; McManus, Kimberly F.; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Hammer, Michael F.; Wall, Jeffrey D.

2016-01-01

Abstract We present three linkage-disequilibrium (LD)-based recombination maps generated using whole-genome sequence data from 10 Nigerian chimpanzees, 13 bonobos, and 15 western gorillas, collected as part of the Great Ape Genome Project (Prado-Martinez J, et al. 2013. Great ape genetic diversity and population history. Nature 499:471–475). We also identified species-specific recombination hotspots in each group using a modified LDhot framework, which greatly improves statistical power to detect hotspots at varying strengths. We show that fewer hotspots are shared among chimpanzee subspecies than within human populations, further narrowing the time scale of complete hotspot turnover. Further, using species-specific PRDM9 sequences to predict potential binding sites (PBS), we show higher predicted PRDM9 binding in recombination hotspots as compared to matched cold spot regions in multiple great ape species, including at least one chimpanzee subspecies. We found that correlations between broad-scale recombination rates decline more rapidly than nucleotide divergence between species. We also compared the skew of recombination rates at centromeres and telomeres between species and show a skew from chromosome means extending as far as 10–15 Mb from chromosome ends. Further, we examined broad-scale recombination rate changes near a translocation in gorillas and found minimal differences as compared to other great ape species perhaps because the coordinates relative to the chromosome ends were unaffected. Finally, on the basis of multiple linear regression analysis, we found that various correlates of recombination rate persist throughout the African great apes including repeats, diversity, and divergence. Our study is the first to analyze within- and between-species genome-wide recombination rate variation in several close relatives. PMID:26671457

Patterns of differences in brain morphology in humans as compared to extant apes

PubMed Central

Aldridge, Kristina

2010-01-01

Although human evolution is characterized by a vast increase in brain size, it is not clear whether or not certain regions of the brain are enlarged disproportionately in humans, or how this enlargement relates to differences in overall neural morphology. The aim of this study is to determine whether or not there are specific suites of features that distinguish the morphology of the human brain from that of apes. The study sample consists of whole brain, in vivo magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and five ape species (gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos). Twenty-nine 3D landmarks, including surface and internal features of the brain were located on 3D MRI reconstructions of each individual using MEASURE software. Landmark coordinate data were scaled for differences in size and analyzed using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis (EDMA) to statistically compare the brains of each non-human ape species to the human sample. Results of analyses show both a pattern of brain morphology that is consistently different between all apes and humans, as well as patterns that differ among species. Further, both the consistent and species-specific patterns include cortical and subcortical features. The pattern that remains consistent across species indicates a morphological reorganization of 1) relationships between cortical and subcortical frontal structures, 2) expansion of the temporal lobe and location of the amygdala, and 3) expansion of the anterior parietal region. Additionally, results demonstrate that, although there is a pattern of morphology that uniquely defines the human brain, there are also patterns that uniquely differentiate human morphology from the morphology of each non-human ape species, indicating that reorganization of neural morphology occurred at the evolutionary divergence of each of these groups. PMID:21056456

Challenges and solutions for the analysis of in situ , in crystallo micro-spectrophotometric data

DOE PAGES

Dworkowski, Florian S. N.; Hough, Michael A.; Pompidor, Guillaume; ...

2015-01-01

Combining macromolecular crystallography with in crystallo micro-spectrophotometry yields valuable complementary information on the sample, including the redox states of metal cofactors, the identification of bound ligands and the onset and strength of undesired photochemistry, also known as radiation damage. However, the analysis and processing of the resulting data differs significantly from the approaches used for solution spectrophotometric data. The varying size and shape of the sample, together with the suboptimal sample environment, the lack of proper reference signals and the general influence of the X-ray beam on the sample have to be considered and carefully corrected for. In the presentmore » article, we discuss how to characterize and treat these sample-dependent artefacts in a reproducible manner and we demonstrate the SLS-APE in situ, in crystallo optical spectroscopy data-analysis toolbox.« less

Historical Roots of the Project Approach in the United States: 1850-1930.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DuCharme, Catherine C.

This paper contends that the historical roots of the project approach in the United States can give strength to early childhood educators today, offering insight and models for the implementation of child-oriented curriculum. The project approach to teaching and learning evolved as a result of the educational ideas of Friedrich Froebel, William…

A device-oriented optimizer for solving ground state problems on an approximate quantum computer, Part II: Experiments for interacting spin and molecular systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kandala, Abhinav; Mezzacapo, Antonio; Temme, Kristan; Bravyi, Sergey; Takita, Maika; Chavez-Garcia, Jose; Córcoles, Antonio; Smolin, John; Chow, Jerry; Gambetta, Jay

Hybrid quantum-classical algorithms can be used to find variational solutions to generic quantum problems. Here, we present an experimental implementation of a device-oriented optimizer that uses superconducting quantum hardware. The experiment relies on feedback between the quantum device and classical optimization software which is robust to measurement noise. Our device-oriented approach uses naturally available interactions for the preparation of trial states. We demonstrate the application of this technique for solving interacting spin and molecular structure problems.

Communication about absent entities in great apes and human infants.

PubMed

Bohn, Manuel; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2015-12-01

There is currently debate about the extent to which non-linguistic beings such as human infants and great apes are capable of absent reference. In a series of experiments we investigated the flexibility and specificity of great apes' (N=36) and 12 month-old infants' (N=40) requests for absent entities. Subjects had the choice between requesting visible objects directly and using the former location of a depleted option to request more of these now-absent entities. Importantly, we systematically varied the quality of the present and absent options. We found that great apes as well as human infants flexibly adjusted their requests for absent entities to these contextual variations and only requested absent entities when the visible option was of lower quality than the absent option. These results suggest that the most basic cognitive capacities for absent reference do not depend on language and are shared by humans and their closest living relatives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Great apes prefer cooked food.

PubMed

Wobber, Victoria; Hare, Brian; Wrangham, Richard

2008-08-01

The cooking hypothesis proposes that a diet of cooked food was responsible for diverse morphological and behavioral changes in human evolution. However, it does not predict whether a preference for cooked food evolved before or after the control of fire. This question is important because the greater the preference shown by a raw-food-eating hominid for the properties present in cooked food, the more easily cooking should have been adopted following the control of fire. Here we use great apes to model food preferences by Paleolithic hominids. We conducted preference tests with various plant and animal foods to determine whether great apes prefer food items raw or cooked. We found that several populations of captive apes tended to prefer their food cooked, though with important exceptions. These results suggest that Paleolithic hominids would likewise have spontaneously preferred cooked food to raw, exapting a pre-existing preference for high-quality, easily chewed foods onto these cooked items. The results, therefore, challenge the hypothesis that the control of fire preceded cooking by a significant period.

Nanoparticle-mediated knockdown of DNA repair sensitizes cells to radiotherapy and extends survival in a genetic mouse model of glioblastoma.

PubMed

Kievit, Forrest M; Wang, Kui; Ozawa, Tatsuya; Tarudji, Aria W; Silber, John R; Holland, Eric C; Ellenbogen, Richard G; Zhang, Miqin

2017-10-01

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains incurable, and recurrent tumors rarely respond to standard-of-care radiation and chemo-therapies. Therefore, strategies that enhance the effects of these therapies should provide significant benefits to GBM patients. We have developed a nanoparticle delivery vehicle that can stably bind and protect nucleic acids for specific delivery into brain tumor cells. These nanoparticles can deliver therapeutic siRNAs to sensitize GBM cells to radiotherapy and improve GBM treatment via systemic administration. We show that nanoparticle-mediated knockdown of the DNA repair protein apurinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1) sensitizes GBM cells to radiotherapy and extend survival in a genetic mouse model of GBM. Specific knockdown of Ape1 activity by 30% in brain tumor tissue doubled the extended survival achieved with radiotherapy alone. Ape1 is a promising target for increasing the effectiveness of radiotherapy, and nanoparticle-mediated delivery of siRNA is a promising strategy for tumor specific knockdown of Ape1. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) quantify split solid objects.

PubMed

Cacchione, Trix; Hrubesch, Christine; Call, Josep

2013-01-01

Recent research suggests that gorillas' and orangutans' object representations survive cohesion violations (e.g., a split of a solid object into two halves), but that their processing of quantities may be affected by them. We assessed chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos' (Pan paniscus) reactions to various fission events in the same series of action tasks modelled after infant studies previously run on gorillas and orangutans (Cacchione and Call in Cognition 116:193-203, 2010b). Results showed that all four non-human great ape species managed to quantify split objects but that their performance varied as a function of the non-cohesiveness produced in the splitting event. Spatial ambiguity and shape invariance had the greatest impact on apes' ability to represent and quantify objects. Further, we observed species differences with gorillas performing lower than other species. Finally, we detected a substantial age effect, with ape infants below 6 years of age being outperformed by both juvenile/adolescent and adult apes.

Brief communication: Swimming and diving behavior in apes (Pan troglodytes and Pongo pygmaeus): first documented report.

PubMed

Bender, Renato; Bender, Nicole

2013-09-01

Extant hominoids, including humans, are well known for their inability to swim instinctively. We report swimming and diving in two captive apes using visual observation and video recording. One common chimpanzee and one orangutan swam repeatedly at the water surface over a distance of 2-6 m; both individuals submerged repeatedly. We show that apes are able to overcome their negative buoyancy by deliberate swimming, using movements which deviate from the doggy-paddle pattern observed in other primates. We suggest that apes' poor swimming ability is due to behavioral, anatomical, and neuromotor changes related to an adaptation to arboreal life in their early phylogeny. This strong adaptive focus on arboreal life led to decreased opportunities to interact with water bodies and consequently to a reduction of selective pressure to maintain innate swimming behavior. As the doggy paddle is associated with quadrupedal walking, a deviation from terrestrial locomotion might have interfered with the fixed rhythmic action patterns responsible for innate swimming. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evolution of the central sulcus morphology in primates.

PubMed

Hopkins, William D; Meguerditchian, Adrien; Coulon, Olivier; Bogart, Stephanie; Mangin, Jean-François; Sherwood, Chet C; Grabowski, Mark W; Bennett, Allyson J; Pierre, Peter J; Fears, Scott; Woods, Roger; Hof, Patrick R; Vauclair, Jacques

2014-01-01

The central sulcus (CS) divides the pre- and postcentral gyri along the dorsal-ventral plane of which all motor and sensory functions are topographically organized. The motor-hand area of the precentral gyrus or KNOB has been described as the anatomical substrate of the hand in humans. Given the importance of the hand in primate evolution, here we examine the evolution of the motor-hand area by comparing the relative size and pattern of cortical folding of the CS surface area from magnetic resonance images in 131 primates, including Old World monkeys, apes and humans. We found that humans and great apes have a well-formed motor-hand area that can be seen in the variation in depth of the CS along the dorsal-ventral plane. We further found that great apes have relatively large CS surface areas compared to Old World monkeys. However, relative to great apes, humans have a small motor-hand area in terms of both adjusted and absolute surface areas. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Clinical and pathologic manifestation of oesophagostomosis in African great apes: does self-medication in wild apes influence disease progression?

PubMed

Krief, Sabrina; Jamart, Aliette; Mahé, Sandrine; Leendertz, Fabian H; Mätz-Rensing, Kerstin; Crespeau, François; Bain, Odile; Guillot, Jacques

2008-08-01

Nodular worms (Oesophagostomum spp.) are common intestinal parasites found in cattle, pig, and primates including humans. In human, they are responsible for serious clinical disease called oesophagostomosis resulting from the formation of granulomas, caseous lesions or abscesses in intestinal walls. In wild great apes, the fecal prevalence of this parasite is high, but little information is available concerning the clinical signs and lesions associated. In the present study, we describe six cases of multinodular oesophagostomosis in free-ranging and ex-captive chimpanzees and captive gorillas caused by Oesophagostomum stephanostomum. While severe clinical signs associated with this infection were observed in great apes raised in sanctuaries, nodules found in wild chimpanzees do not seem to affect their health status. One hypothesis to explain this difference would be that in wild chimpanzees, access to natural environment and behavior such as rough leaves swallowing combined with ingestion of plants having pharmacological properties would prevent severe infection and decrease potential symptoms.

Assessing the impact of different satellite retrieval methods on forecast available potential energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whittaker, Linda M.; Horn, Lyle H.

1990-01-01

The effects of the inclusion of satellite temperature retrieval data, and of different satellite retrieval methods, on forecasts made with the NASA Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres (GLA) fourth-order model were investigated using, as the parameter, the available potential energy (APE) in its isentropic form. Calculation of the APE were used to study the differences in the forecast sets both globally and in the Northern Hemisphere during 72-h forecast period. The analysis data sets used for the forecasts included one containing the NESDIS TIROS-N retrievals, the GLA retrievals using the physical inversion method, and a third, which did not contain satellite data, used as a control; two data sets, with and without satellite data, were used for verification. For all three data sets, the Northern Hemisphere values for the total APE showed an increase throughout the forecast period, mostly due to an increase in the zonal component, in contrast to the verification sets, which showed a steady level of total APE.

Generic, Type-Safe and Object Oriented Computer Algebra Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kredel, Heinz; Jolly, Raphael

Advances in computer science, in particular object oriented programming, and software engineering have had little practical impact on computer algebra systems in the last 30 years. The software design of existing systems is still dominated by ad-hoc memory management, weakly typed algorithm libraries and proprietary domain specific interactive expression interpreters. We discuss a modular approach to computer algebra software: usage of state-of-the-art memory management and run-time systems (e.g. JVM) usage of strongly typed, generic, object oriented programming languages (e.g. Java) and usage of general purpose, dynamic interactive expression interpreters (e.g. Python) To illustrate the workability of this approach, we have implemented and studied computer algebra systems in Java and Scala. In this paper we report on the current state of this work by presenting new examples.

Human and ape: the legend, the history and the DNA

PubMed Central

Diamandopoulos, AA; Goudas, CP

2007-01-01

A vast amount of papers is published every year about species evolution, the most interesting being those recently published in the journal "Nature", concerning the human-ape relationship. The results and the new theories generated from this research are sometimes astonishing, rising not only biological, but also social, religious and cultural questions. One of the new questions concerns the role of species interbreeding as a means of evolution. In the subject of species interbreeding between human and ape we found some interesting historical and mythical information that sort of back-up this theory of interbreeding, with a historical and cultural side of view. PMID:19582186

A species' Odyssey: evolution of obstetrical mechanics from Australopithecus Lucy to nowadays.

PubMed

Chene, G; Tardieu, A-S; Trombert, B; Amouzougan, A; Lamblin, G; Mellier, G; Coppens, Y

2014-10-01

Study of obstetrical mechanics of Australopithecus Lucy, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus relative to modern Homo sapiens and the Catarrhines. The material comprised a total of 360 pelves: 3 fossil pelves reconstructed using casts (Australopithecus afarensis Lucy or AL 288-1, Homo erectus KNM-WT 15000, H. neanderthalensis or Kebara 2), 305 female modern adult pelves and 52 female Catarrhine pelves (29 gorillas, 18 chimpanzees, 5 orang-utans). All these pelves were reconstructed in order to carry out 11 pelvimetric measurements. Each measurement was carried out twice and by two different operators. The pelvis of Lucy was platypelloid at each pelvic plane. The pelvic inlet of H. neanderthalensis was anteroposteriorly oval whereas the midplane and the outlet were transversely oval. The pelvis of H. erectus was globally round. In modern women, the inlet was transversely oval. The pelvic midplane and outlet were anteroposteriorly oval. In the great apes, the shape of all three pelvic planes was anteroposteriorly oval. The discriminating value of the various pelvimetry measurements place Australopithecus Lucy, H. neanderthalensis Kebara 2, and H. erectus KNM-WT 15000 close to modern humans and less similar to the great apes. Obstetrical mechanics evolved from dystocic delivery with a transverse orientation in Australopithecus to delivery with a modern human-like rotational birth and an increase in the anteroposterior diameters in H. erectus, H. neanderthalensis and modern H. sapiens. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative and Familial Analysis of Handedness in Great Apes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, William D.

2006-01-01

Historically, population-level handedness has been considered a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable debate. This paper summarizes published data on handedness in great apes. Comparative analysis indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos show population-level right…

Comparative urinary androstanes in the great apes.

PubMed

Hagey, L R; Czekala, N M

2003-01-01

Urinary androstanes from seven species of male great apes (human, bonobo, chimpanzee, lowland gorilla, mountain gorilla, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran orangutan) were separated by HPLC and detected by RIA using two testosterone antibodies. All animals examined showed the presence of testosterone and six additional immunoreactive peaks. Although testosterone was the dominant peak (85%) in human urine, its proportion in urine was much less in the other apes, ranging from a high of 59% in the bonobo and chimpanzee to a low of 24% in the mountain gorilla. Urinary androstanes were also directly visualized using nano-spray mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS). Although the RIA can qualitatively produce a strong signal for testosterone in unchromatographed urine, it is quantitatively present only as a trace metabolite, as demonstrated by nanoESI-MS. The combination of the two techniques showed large differences in androstane metabolism between the seven species. A previously undescribed testosterone metabolite (tentatively identified as either delta1- or delta6-testosterone sulfate) was present in significant proportions in all of the non-human apes examined. We conclude that in the great apes, testosterone is only a trace metabolite in urine, and as a consequence, its measurement may not produce results that parallel the levels of serum testosterone. The RIA measurement of urinary testosterone in part records additional androstane metabolites, which vary even between closely related genera, making the results neither equivalent with nor comparable to different species.

Human rather than ape-like orbital morphology allows much greater lateral visual field expansion with eye abduction

PubMed Central

Denion, Eric; Hitier, Martin; Levieil, Eric; Mouriaux, Frédéric

2015-01-01

While convergent, the human orbit differs from that of non-human apes in that its lateral orbital margin is significantly more rearward. This rearward position does not obstruct the additional visual field gained through eye motion. This additional visual field is therefore considered to be wider in humans than in non-human apes. A mathematical model was designed to quantify this difference. The mathematical model is based on published computed tomography data in the human neuro-ocular plane (NOP) and on additional anatomical data from 100 human skulls and 120 non-human ape skulls (30 gibbons; 30 chimpanzees / bonobos; 30 orangutans; 30 gorillas). It is used to calculate temporal visual field eccentricity values in the NOP first in the primary position of gaze then for any eyeball rotation value in abduction up to 45° and any lateral orbital margin position between 85° and 115° relative to the sagittal plane. By varying the lateral orbital margin position, the human orbit can be made “non-human ape-like”. In the Pan-like orbit, the orbital margin position (98.7°) was closest to the human orbit (107.1°). This modest 8.4° difference resulted in a large 21.1° difference in maximum lateral visual field eccentricity with eyeball abduction (Pan-like: 115°; human: 136.1°). PMID:26190625

The distal tibia of Hispanopithecus laietanus: more evidence for mosaic evolution in Miocene apes.

PubMed

Tallman, Melissa; Almécija, Sergio; Reber, Samantha L; Alba, David M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2013-05-01

IPS18800 is a partial skeleton attributed to the fossil great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus, and dated to 9.6 Ma (millions of years ago). Previous studies on the postcranial anatomy of this taxon have shown that it displayed a derived, extant great ape-like orthograde body plan with suspensory adaptations, uniquely coupled with adaptations for above-branch pronograde locomotion. Here, for the first time, we describe and analyze in detail the distal tibia of the IPS18800 skeleton of Hispanopithecus with the aid of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics based on 53 landmarks and semilandmarks collected on a broad sample of extant catarrhines and fossil hominoids. Results of principal components and canonical variate analyses reveal that the distal tibia of Hispanopithecus occupies a unique position in the morphospace, similar in some respects to pronograde monkeys, and in other respects to extant apes. The IPS18800 distal tibia combines adaptations for above branch quadrupedalism, such as a keeled trochlear surface and strong intercollicular groove, with adaptations for vertical climbing, such as an anteroposteriorly flattened shaft, enlarged fibular facet and a tibial stop. These results on the distal tibia agree with those from other anatomical regions, indicating that this taxon displayed a locomotor repertoire unlike any extant ape, combining vertical climbing and clambering with above-branch quadrupedalism. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychological Health of Orphan Bonobos and Chimpanzees in African Sanctuaries

PubMed Central

Wobber, Victoria; Hare, Brian

2011-01-01

Background Facilities across Africa care for apes orphaned by the trade for “bushmeat.” These facilities, called sanctuaries, provide housing for apes such as bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who have been illegally taken from the wild and sold as pets. Although these circumstances are undoubtedly stressful for the apes, most individuals arrive at the sanctuaries as infants and are subsequently provided with rich physical and social environments that can facilitate the expression of species-typical behaviors. Methods and Findings We tested whether bonobo and chimpanzee orphans living in sanctuaries show any behavioral, physiological, or cognitive abnormalities relative to other individuals in captivity as a result of the early-life stress they experience. Orphans showed lower levels of aberrant behaviors, similar levels of average cortisol, and highly similar performances on a broad battery of cognitive tests in comparisons with individuals of the same species who were either living at a zoo or were reared by their mothers at the sanctuaries. Conclusion Taken together, these results support the rehabilitation strategy used by sanctuaries in the Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) and suggest that the orphans we examined did not show long-term signs of stress as a result of their capture. Our findings also show that sanctuary apes are as psychologically healthy as apes in other captive settings and thus represent a valuable resource for non-invasive research. PMID:21666743

How the great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla) perform on the reversed reward contingency task II: transfer to new quantities, long-term retention, and the impact of quantity ratios.

PubMed

Uher, Jana; Call, Josep

2008-05-01

We tested 6 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 3 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), 4 bonobos (Pan paniscus), and 2 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) in the reversed reward contingency task. Individuals were presented with pairs of quantities ranging between 0 and 6 food items. Prior to testing, some experienced apes had solved this task using 2 quantities while others were totally naïve. Experienced apes transferred their ability to multiple-novel pairs after 6 to 19 months had elapsed since their initial testing. Two out of 6 naïve apes (1 chimpanzee, 1 bonobo) solved the task--a proportion comparable to that of a previous study using 2 pairs of quantities. Their acquisition speed was also comparable to the successful subjects from that study. The ratio between quantities explained a large portion of the variance but affected naïve and experienced individuals differently. For smaller ratios, naïve individuals were well below 50% correct and experienced ones were well above 50%, yet both groups tended to converge toward 50% for larger ratios. Thus, some apes require no procedural modifications to overcome their strong bias for selecting the larger of 2 quantities. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Psychological health of orphan bonobos and chimpanzees in African sanctuaries.

PubMed

Wobber, Victoria; Hare, Brian

2011-01-01

Facilities across Africa care for apes orphaned by the trade for "bushmeat." These facilities, called sanctuaries, provide housing for apes such as bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who have been illegally taken from the wild and sold as pets. Although these circumstances are undoubtedly stressful for the apes, most individuals arrive at the sanctuaries as infants and are subsequently provided with rich physical and social environments that can facilitate the expression of species-typical behaviors. We tested whether bonobo and chimpanzee orphans living in sanctuaries show any behavioral, physiological, or cognitive abnormalities relative to other individuals in captivity as a result of the early-life stress they experience. Orphans showed lower levels of aberrant behaviors, similar levels of average cortisol, and highly similar performances on a broad battery of cognitive tests in comparisons with individuals of the same species who were either living at a zoo or were reared by their mothers at the sanctuaries. Taken together, these results support the rehabilitation strategy used by sanctuaries in the Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) and suggest that the orphans we examined did not show long-term signs of stress as a result of their capture. Our findings also show that sanctuary apes are as psychologically healthy as apes in other captive settings and thus represent a valuable resource for non-invasive research.

Cerebral volumetric asymmetries in non-human primates: A magnetic resonance imaging study

PubMed Central

Pilcher, Dawn L.; Hammock, Elizabeth A.D.; Hopkins, William D.

2007-01-01

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) were collected in a sample of 23 apes, 14 Old World monkeys, and 8 New World monkeys. The total area or volume of the anterior and posterior cerebral regions of each hemisphere of the brain was measured. The results indicated that a rightward frontal and leftward occipital pattern of asymmetry was present at a population level in the great ape sample. Population-level cerebral asymmetries were not revealed in the sample of New or Old World monkeys. The total area or volume of the planum temporale, which was localised only in the great apes, was also measured in both hemispheres. A leftward planum temporale asymmetry was evident at the population level in the great apes. It was hypothesised that the rightward frontal and leftward occipital asymmetries would correlate with leftward planum temporale asymmetries. This hypothesis was based on the assumption that, similar to development of the human brain, the non-human primate brain ‘‘torques’’ during development due to a growth gradient which progresses anterior to posterior, ventral to dorsal, and right to left. The results of this study confirmed the predicted relationship between cerebral volume and the planum temporale asymmetries. This supports the hypothesis that the great ape brain may develop in a ‘‘torquing’’ manner, producing similar anatomical asymmetries as reported in humans. PMID:15513168

Neuronal Populations in the Basolateral Nuclei of the Amygdala Are Differentially Increased in Humans Compared With Apes: A Stereological Study

PubMed Central

Barger, Nicole; Stefanacci, Lisa; Schumann, Cynthia M.; Sherwood, Chet C.; Annese, Jacopo; Allman, John M.; Buckwalter, Joseph A.; Hof, Patrick R.; Semendeferi, Katerina

2016-01-01

In human and nonhuman primates, the amygdala is known to play critical roles in emotional and social behavior. Anatomically, individual amygdaloid nuclei are connected with many neural systems that are either differentially expanded or conserved over the course of primate evolution. To address amygdala evolution in humans and our closest living relatives, the apes, we used design-based stereological methods to obtain neuron counts for the amygdala and each of four major amygdaloid nuclei (the lateral, basal, accessory basal, and central nuclei) in humans, all great ape species, lesser apes, and one monkey species. Our goal was to determine whether there were significant differences in the number or percent of neurons distributed to individual nuclei among species. Additionally, regression analyses were performed on independent contrast data to determine whether any individual species deviated from allometric trends. There were two major findings. In humans, the lateral nucleus contained the highest number of neurons in the amygdala, whereas in apes the basal nucleus contained the highest number of neurons. Additionally, the human lateral nucleus contained 59% more neurons than predicted by allometric regressions on nonhuman primate data. Based on the largest sample ever analyzed in a comparative study of the hominoid amygdala, our findings suggest that an emphasis on the lateral nucleus is the main characteristic of amygdala specialization over the course of human evolution. PMID:22473387

Engineering for Deep Sea Drilling for Scientific Purposes

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

Clyde Consultants JOSEPH E. BEALL, Triton Engineering Services Company DOUWE DE VRIES, N L Industries, Incorporated TERRY N. GARDNER, Exxon...estimate: $1 million additional cost for each site drilled and 25 to 35 wells to be drilled over the period. __ U 20 inclusion in a request for proposal...26 of a positively buoyant system would allow a nearly conventional rise tensioning system. However, the latter approach would require de - .aping a

Apes have eyes to the future.

PubMed

Vonk, Jennifer

2016-09-01

Kano and Hirata (Current Biology, 25, 2513-2517, 2015) recently showed that apes process object and location information and anticipate the repeated presentation of such events in short film clips. Their methodology, using eyetracking, can provide a foundation for further explications of long-term prospective and episodic memory in nonverbal species.

Cognitive Science: Persistent Apes Are Intelligent Apes.

PubMed

Eisenreich, Benjamin R; Hayden, Benjamin Y

2018-02-19

In humans, self-control is correlated with general intelligence; a new study finds that this correlation extends to chimpanzees as well. The new results highlight the cognitive bases of self-control and suggest a common evolutionary history for human and primate self-control. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 66119 - Proposed Information Collection; International Conservation Grant Programs

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-27

..., great apes, elephants, and many other highly cherished species. The Division of International Conservation administers 11 competitive grant programs funded under the: African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4245). Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261). Great Apes Conservation...

Parallel overinterpretation of behavior of apes and corvids.

PubMed

Hampton, Robert

2018-06-20

The report by Kabadayi and Osvath (Science, 357(6347), 202-204, 2017) does not demonstrate planning in ravens. The behavior of corvids and apes is fascinating and will be best appreciated through well-designed experiments that explicitly test alternative explanations and that are interpreted without unjustified anthropomorphic embellishment.

Understanding the Effectiveness of Demonstration Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Allison; Boeving, Emily R.; Shender, Marisa A.; Ross, Stephen R.

2015-01-01

This project sought to understand guest engagement during great ape demonstrations conducted at the "Regenstein Center for African Apes" in the Lincoln Park Zoo. We were interested in how these demonstrations engaged audiences, relative to a non-demonstration-viewing experience, as well as how they compared to each other. In 2012 and…

Leveling the Playing Field: Adapted PE Brings Together Kids with and without Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarrett, Denise

2000-01-01

Adapted physical education (APE) makes whatever adjustments are needed to allow students with disabilities to participate in regular physical education classes. APE at Beaverton School District (Oregon) is described, as well as the individualized special physical education classes provided to children with severe disabilities. (SV)

Fiber orientation interpolation for the multiscale analysis of short fiber reinforced composite parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köbler, Jonathan; Schneider, Matti; Ospald, Felix; Andrä, Heiko; Müller, Ralf

2018-06-01

For short fiber reinforced plastic parts the local fiber orientation has a strong influence on the mechanical properties. To enable multiscale computations using surrogate models we advocate a two-step identification strategy. Firstly, for a number of sample orientations an effective model is derived by numerical methods available in the literature. Secondly, to cover a general orientation state, these effective models are interpolated. In this article we develop a novel and effective strategy to carry out this interpolation. Firstly, taking into account symmetry arguments, we reduce the fiber orientation phase space to a triangle in R^2 . For an associated triangulation of this triangle we furnish each node with an surrogate model. Then, we use linear interpolation on the fiber orientation triangle to equip each fiber orientation state with an effective stress. The proposed approach is quite general, and works for any physically nonlinear constitutive law on the micro-scale, as long as surrogate models for single fiber orientation states can be extracted. To demonstrate the capabilities of our scheme we study the viscoelastic creep behavior of short glass fiber reinforced PA66, and use Schapery's collocation method together with FFT-based computational homogenization to derive single orientation state effective models. We discuss the efficient implementation of our method, and present results of a component scale computation on a benchmark component by using ABAQUS ®.

Fiber orientation interpolation for the multiscale analysis of short fiber reinforced composite parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köbler, Jonathan; Schneider, Matti; Ospald, Felix; Andrä, Heiko; Müller, Ralf

2018-04-01

For short fiber reinforced plastic parts the local fiber orientation has a strong influence on the mechanical properties. To enable multiscale computations using surrogate models we advocate a two-step identification strategy. Firstly, for a number of sample orientations an effective model is derived by numerical methods available in the literature. Secondly, to cover a general orientation state, these effective models are interpolated. In this article we develop a novel and effective strategy to carry out this interpolation. Firstly, taking into account symmetry arguments, we reduce the fiber orientation phase space to a triangle in R^2 . For an associated triangulation of this triangle we furnish each node with an surrogate model. Then, we use linear interpolation on the fiber orientation triangle to equip each fiber orientation state with an effective stress. The proposed approach is quite general, and works for any physically nonlinear constitutive law on the micro-scale, as long as surrogate models for single fiber orientation states can be extracted. To demonstrate the capabilities of our scheme we study the viscoelastic creep behavior of short glass fiber reinforced PA66, and use Schapery's collocation method together with FFT-based computational homogenization to derive single orientation state effective models. We discuss the efficient implementation of our method, and present results of a component scale computation on a benchmark component by using ABAQUS ®.

Placental invasion, preeclampsia risk and adaptive molecular evolution at the origin of the great apes: evidence from genome-wide analyses.

PubMed

Crosley, E J; Elliot, M G; Christians, J K; Crespi, B J

2013-02-01

Recent evidence from chimpanzees and gorillas has raised doubts that preeclampsia is a uniquely human disease. The deep extravillous trophoblast (EVT) invasion and spiral artery remodeling that characterizes our placenta (and is abnormal in preeclampsia) is shared within great apes, setting Homininae apart from Hylobatidae and Old World Monkeys, which show much shallower trophoblast invasion and limited spiral artery remodeling. We hypothesize that the evolution of a more invasive placenta in the lineage ancestral to the great apes involved positive selection on genes crucial to EVT invasion and spiral artery remodeling. Furthermore, identification of placentally-expressed genes under selection in this lineage may identify novel genes involved in placental development. We tested for positive selection in approximately 18,000 genes using the ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous amino acid substitution for protein-coding DNA. DAVID Bioinformatics Resources identified biological processes enriched in positively selected genes, including processes related to EVT invasion and spiral artery remodeling. Analyses revealed 295 and 264 genes under significant positive selection on the branches ancestral to Hominidae (Human, Chimp, Gorilla, Orangutan) and Homininae (Human, Chimp, Gorilla), respectively. Gene ontology analysis of these gene sets demonstrated significant enrichments for several functional gene clusters relevant to preeclampsia risk, and sets of placentally-expressed genes that have been linked with preeclampsia and/or trophoblast invasion in other studies. Our study represents a novel approach to the identification of candidate genes and amino acid residues involved in placental pathologies by implicating them in the evolution of highly-invasive placenta. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monoclonal antibodies against pools of mono- and polyacetylated peptides selectively recognize acetylated lysines within the context of the original antigen.

PubMed

Sandomenico, Annamaria; Focà, Annalia; Sanguigno, Luca; Caporale, Andrea; Focà, Giuseppina; Pignalosa, Angelica; Corvino, Giusy; Caragnano, Angela; Beltrami, Antonio Paolo; Antoniali, Giulia; Tell, Gianluca; Leonardi, Antonio; Ruvo, Menotti

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) strongly influence the structure and function of proteins. Lysine side chain acetylation is one of the most widespread PTMs, and it plays a major role in several physiological and pathological mechanisms. Protein acetylation may be detected by mass spectrometry (MS), but the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is a useful and cheaper option. Here, we explored the feasibility of generating mAbs against single or multiple acetylations within the context of a specific sequence. As a model, we used the unstructured N-terminal domain of APE1, which is acetylated on Lys27, Lys31, Lys32 and Lys35. As immunogen, we used a peptide mixture containing all combinations of single or multi-acetylated variants encompassing the 24-39 protein region. Targeted screening of the resulting clones yielded mAbs that bind with high affinity to only the acetylated APE1 peptides and the acetylated protein. No binding was seen with the non-acetylated variant or unrelated acetylated peptides and proteins, suggesting a high specificity for the APE1 acetylated molecules. MAbs could not finely discriminate between the differently acetylated variants; however, they specifically bound the acetylated protein in mammalian cell extracts and in intact cells and tissue slices from both breast cancers and from a patient affected by idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The data suggest that our approach is a rapid and cost-effective method to generate mAbs against specific proteins modified by multiple acetylations or other PTMs.

Personality and subjective well-being in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii).

PubMed

Weiss, Alexander; King, James E; Perkins, Lori

2006-03-01

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) are semisolitary apes and, among the great apes, the most distantly related to humans. Raters assessed 152 orangutans on 48 personality descriptors; 140 of these orangutans were also rated on a subjective well-being questionnaire. Principal-components analysis yielded 5 reliable personality factors: Extraversion, Dominance, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Intellect. The authors found no factor analogous to human Conscientiousness. Among the orangutans rated on all 48 personality descriptors and the subjective well-being questionnaire, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and low Neuroticism were related to subjective well-being. These findings suggest that analogues of human, chimpanzee, and orangutan personality domains existed in a common ape ancestor. Copyright (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Tissue concentrations of organic contaminants in fish and their biological effects in a wastewater-dominated urban stream

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Data are presented on the fish tissue concentrations of persistent organic compounds and alkylphenol and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) in large-mouth bass collected from a waste water dominated stream in downtown Chicago. The fish residue concentrations of APEs are compared to concentrations of th...

On Apes, Poetry, and Language Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, George M., Jr.

A psychological experiment in which an ape manipulates colored linguistic symbols as a means of ostensibly learning a language suggests to the author that students, analogously, may be able to learn a foreign language by studying the use of linguistic elements in poems. Selected examples of Russian poetry illustrate the potential use of poetry in…

"Why Are There Still Apes if Apes Have Changed into People?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Terry; McGuigan, Linda

2015-01-01

"Evolution" is an area of the curriculum in which children show great interest and enthusiasm to learn more. They also bring considerable prior (though incomplete) knowledge from their informal "life worlds". Most children have encountered the term "evolution" from an early age and tend to define it in terms of…

The evolution of laughter in great apes and humans

PubMed Central

Owren, Michael J; Zimmermann, Elke

2010-01-01

It has long been claimed that human emotional expressions, such as laughter, have evolved from nonhuman displays. The aim of the current study was to test this prediction by conducting acoustic and phylogenetic analyses based on the acoustics of tickle-induced vocalizations of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans. Results revealed both important similarities and differences among the various species’ vocalizations, with the phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on these acoustic data matching the well-established genetic relationships of great apes and humans. These outcomes provide evidence of a common phylogenetic origin of tickle-induced vocalizations in these taxa, which can therefore be termed “laughter” across all five species. Results are consistent with the claims of phylogenetic continuity of emotional expressions. Together with observations made on the use of laughter in great apes and humans, findings of this study further indicate that there were two main periods of selection-driven evolutionary change in laughter within the Hominidae, to a smaller degree, among the great apes and, most distinctively, after the separation of hominins from the last common ancestor with chimpanzees and bonobos. PMID:20585520

Chimpanzees and Bonobos Exhibit Emotional Responses to Decision Outcomes

PubMed Central

Rosati, Alexandra G.; Hare, Brian

2013-01-01

The interface between cognition, emotion, and motivation is thought to be of central importance in understanding complex cognitive functions such as decision-making and executive control in humans. Although nonhuman apes have complex repertoires of emotional expression, little is known about the role of affective processes in ape decision-making. To illuminate the evolutionary origins of human-like patterns of choice, we investigated decision-making in humans' closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). In two studies, we examined these species' temporal and risk preferences, and assessed whether apes show emotional and motivational responses in decision-making contexts. We find that (1) chimpanzees are more patient and more risk-prone than are bonobos, (2) both species exhibit affective and motivational responses following the outcomes of their decisions, and (3) some emotional and motivational responses map onto species-level and individual-differences in decision-making. These results indicate that apes do exhibit emotional responses to decision-making, like humans. We explore the hypothesis that affective and motivational biases may underlie the psychological mechanisms supporting value-based preferences in these species. PMID:23734175

Yerkes, Hamilton and the experimental study of the ape mind: from evolutionary psychiatry to eugenic politics.

PubMed

Thomas, Marion

2006-06-01

Robert Yerkes is a pivotal figure in American psychology and primatology in the first half of the twentieth century. As is well known, Yerkes first studied ape intelligence in 1915, on a visit to the private California laboratory of the psychiatrist Gilbert Hamilton, a former student. Less widely appreciated is how far the work done at the Hamilton lab, in its aims and ambitions as well as its techniques, served as a template for much of Yerkes's research thereafter. This paper uses the Hamilton-Yerkes relationship to re-examine Yerkes's career and, more generally, that of American psychology in the early twentieth century. Three points especially are emphasized: first, the role of Freudian psychoanalysis as a spur to Hamilton's experimental studies of ape intelligence; second, the importance of Hamilton's laboratory, with its semi-wild population of monkeys and ape, as a model for Yerkes's efforts to create a laboratory of his own; and third, the influence on Yerkes of Hamilton's optimism about experimental psychological studies of nonhuman primates as a source of lessons beneficial to a troubled human world.

Loss of Olfactory Receptor Genes Coincides with the Acquisition of Full Trichromatic Vision in Primates

PubMed Central

Wiebe, Victor; Przeworski, Molly; Lancet, Doron; Pääbo, Svante

2004-01-01

Olfactory receptor (OR) genes constitute the molecular basis for the sense of smell and are encoded by the largest gene family in mammalian genomes. Previous studies suggested that the proportion of pseudogenes in the OR gene family is significantly larger in humans than in other apes and significantly larger in apes than in the mouse. To investigate the process of degeneration of the olfactory repertoire in primates, we estimated the proportion of OR pseudogenes in 19 primate species by surveying randomly chosen subsets of 100 OR genes from each species. We find that apes, Old World monkeys and one New World monkey, the howler monkey, have a significantly higher proportion of OR pseudogenes than do other New World monkeys or the lemur (a prosimian). Strikingly, the howler monkey is also the only New World monkey to possess full trichromatic vision, along with Old World monkeys and apes. Our findings suggest that the deterioration of the olfactory repertoire occurred concomitant with the acquisition of full trichromatic color vision in primates. PMID:14737185

Stillbirth rates across three ape species in accredited American zoos.

PubMed

Saiyed, Sana T; Liubicich, Rebecca C; Fidino, Mason; Ross, Stephen R

2018-05-14

Stillbirths, or births of infants that died in the womb, represent a failure of the materno-feto-placental unit to maintain a suitable fetal environment. Typical studies of nonhuman primate (NHP) stillbirth patterns are primarily descriptive and focus on macaques (genus Macaca). Thus, less is known about other NHP species and rarer still are studies that examine possible biological factors that influence stillbirth rates across taxa. To examine possible contributors to stillbirths in great apes, we analyzed 36 years (1980-2016) of historical data documenting births of zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, N = 391), western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla, N = 491), and orangutans (Pongo spp, N = 307) in accredited zoological parks in the United States. The average number of births for each of the 446 mothers was 2.7, resulting in a total of 1,189 births with 143 stillbirths (12%). Stillbirths represented 12% of chimpanzee births, 13% of gorilla births, and 10% of orangutan births. We used generalized linear mixed-effects models to assess possible relationships between stillbirth likelihood and mother origin (wild- versus captive-born), age, and genus. Across taxa, older mothers were more likely to have a stillbirth (p = 0.004). While these results are likely influenced by both biological and management-related factors (e.g., selective captive breeding), they may be useful to population managers in evaluating pregnancy risks for great apes. Captive settings and archival studbook data such as these may provide a unique opportunity to further explore this topic. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Three Object-Oriented enhancement for EPICS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osberg, E. A.; Dohan, D. A.; Richter, R.; Biggs, R.; Chillara, K.; Wade, D.; Bossom, J.

1994-12-01

In line with our group's intention of producing software using, where possible, Object-Oriented methodologies and techniques in the development of RF control systems, we have undertaken three projects to enhance the EPICS software environment. Two of the projects involve interfaces to EPICs Channel Access from Object-Oriented languages. The third is an enhancement to the EPICS State Notation Language to better support the Shlaer-Mellor Object-Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology. This paper discusses the motivation, approaches, results and future directions of these three projects.

eulerAPE: Drawing Area-Proportional 3-Venn Diagrams Using Ellipses

PubMed Central

Micallef, Luana; Rodgers, Peter

2014-01-01

Venn diagrams with three curves are used extensively in various medical and scientific disciplines to visualize relationships between data sets and facilitate data analysis. The area of the regions formed by the overlapping curves is often directly proportional to the cardinality of the depicted set relation or any other related quantitative data. Drawing these diagrams manually is difficult and current automatic drawing methods do not always produce appropriate diagrams. Most methods depict the data sets as circles, as they perceptually pop out as complete distinct objects due to their smoothness and regularity. However, circles cannot draw accurate diagrams for most 3-set data and so the generated diagrams often have misleading region areas. Other methods use polygons to draw accurate diagrams. However, polygons are non-smooth and non-symmetric, so the curves are not easily distinguishable and the diagrams are difficult to comprehend. Ellipses are more flexible than circles and are similarly smooth, but none of the current automatic drawing methods use ellipses. We present eulerAPE as the first method and software that uses ellipses for automatically drawing accurate area-proportional Venn diagrams for 3-set data. We describe the drawing method adopted by eulerAPE and we discuss our evaluation of the effectiveness of eulerAPE and ellipses for drawing random 3-set data. We compare eulerAPE and various other methods that are currently available and we discuss differences between their generated diagrams in terms of accuracy and ease of understanding for real world data. PMID:25032825

Neuronal populations in the basolateral nuclei of the amygdala are differentially increased in humans compared with apes: a stereological study.

PubMed

Barger, Nicole; Stefanacci, Lisa; Schumann, Cynthia M; Sherwood, Chet C; Annese, Jacopo; Allman, John M; Buckwalter, Joseph A; Hof, Patrick R; Semendeferi, Katerina

2012-09-01

In human and nonhuman primates, the amygdala is known to play critical roles in emotional and social behavior. Anatomically, individual amygdaloid nuclei are connected with many neural systems that are either differentially expanded or conserved over the course of primate evolution. To address amygdala evolution in humans and our closest living relatives, the apes, we used design-based stereological methods to obtain neuron counts for the amygdala and each of four major amygdaloid nuclei (the lateral, basal, accessory basal, and central nuclei) in humans, all great ape species, lesser apes, and one monkey species. Our goal was to determine whether there were significant differences in the number or percent of neurons distributed to individual nuclei among species. Additionally, regression analyses were performed on independent contrast data to determine whether any individual species deviated from allometric trends. There were two major findings. In humans, the lateral nucleus contained the highest number of neurons in the amygdala, whereas in apes the basal nucleus contained the highest number of neurons. Additionally, the human lateral nucleus contained 59% more neurons than predicted by allometric regressions on nonhuman primate data. Based on the largest sample ever analyzed in a comparative study of the hominoid amygdala, our findings suggest that an emphasis on the lateral nucleus is the main characteristic of amygdala specialization over the course of human evolution. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Root growth during molar eruption in extant great apes.

PubMed

Kelley, Jay; Dean, Christopher; Ross, Sasha

2009-01-01

While there is gradually accumulating knowledge about molar crown formation and the timing of molar eruption in extant great apes, very little is known about root formation during the eruption process. We measured mandibular first and second molar root lengths in extant great ape osteological specimens that died while either the first or second molars were in the process of erupting. For most specimens, teeth were removed so that root lengths could be measured directly. When this was not possible, roots were measured radiographically. We were particularly interested in the variation in the lengths of first molar roots near the point of gingival emergence, so specimens were divided into early, middle and late phases of eruption based on the number of cusps that showed protein staining, with one or two cusps stained equated with immediate post-gingival emergence. For first molars at this stage, Gorilla has the longest roots, followed by Pongo and Pan. Variation in first molar mesial root lengths at this stage in Gorilla and Pan, which comprise the largest samples, is relatively low and represents no more than a few months of growth in both taxa. Knowledge of root length at first molar emergence permits an assessment of the contribution of root growth toward differences between great apes and humans in the age at first molar emergence. Root growth makes up a greater percentage of the time between birth and first molar emergence in humans than it does in any of the great apes. Copyright (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Lineage-specific expansions of retroviral insertions within the genomes of African great apes but not humans and orangutans.

PubMed

Yohn, Chris T; Jiang, Zhaoshi; McGrath, Sean D; Hayden, Karen E; Khaitovich, Philipp; Johnson, Matthew E; Eichler, Marla Y; McPherson, John D; Zhao, Shaying; Pääbo, Svante; Eichler, Evan E

2005-04-01

Retroviral infections of the germline have the potential to episodically alter gene function and genome structure during the course of evolution. Horizontal transmissions between species have been proposed, but little evidence exists for such events in the human/great ape lineage of evolution. Based on analysis of finished BAC chimpanzee genome sequence, we characterize a retroviral element (Pan troglodytes endogenous retrovirus 1 [PTERV1]) that has become integrated in the germline of African great ape and Old World monkey species but is absent from humans and Asian ape genomes. We unambiguously map 287 retroviral integration sites and determine that approximately 95.8% of the insertions occur at non-orthologous regions between closely related species. Phylogenetic analysis of the endogenous retrovirus reveals that the gorilla and chimpanzee elements share a monophyletic origin with a subset of the Old World monkey retroviral elements, but that the average sequence divergence exceeds neutral expectation for a strictly nuclear inherited DNA molecule. Within the chimpanzee, there is a significant integration bias against genes, with only 14 of these insertions mapping within intronic regions. Six out of ten of these genes, for which there are expression data, show significant differences in transcript expression between human and chimpanzee. Our data are consistent with a retroviral infection that bombarded the genomes of chimpanzees and gorillas independently and concurrently, 3-4 million years ago. We speculate on the potential impact of such recent events on the evolution of humans and great apes.

Chimpanzees, bonobos and children successfully coordinate in conflict situations.

PubMed

Sánchez-Amaro, Alejandro; Duguid, Shona; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2017-06-14

Social animals need to coordinate with others to reap the benefits of group-living even when individuals' interests are misaligned. We compare how chimpanzees, bonobos and children coordinate their actions with a conspecific in a Snowdrift game, which provides a model for understanding how organisms coordinate and make decisions under conflict. In study 1, we presented pairs of chimpanzees, bonobos and children with an unequal reward distribution. In the critical condition, the preferred reward could only be obtained by waiting for the partner to act, with the risk that if no one acted, both would lose the rewards. Apes and children successfully coordinated to obtain the rewards. Children used a 'both-partner-pull' strategy and communicated during the task, while some apes relied on an 'only-one-partner-pulls' strategy to solve the task, although there were also signs of strategic behaviour as they waited for their partner to pull when that strategy led to the preferred reward. In study 2, we presented pairs of chimpanzees and bonobos with the same set-up as in study 1 with the addition of a non-social option that provided them with a secure reward. In this situation, apes had to actively decide between the unequal distribution and the alternative. In this set-up, apes maximized their rewards by taking their partners' potential actions into account. In conclusion, children and apes showed clear instances of strategic decision-making to maximize their own rewards while maintaining successful coordination. © 2017 The Author(s).

eulerAPE: drawing area-proportional 3-Venn diagrams using ellipses.

PubMed

Micallef, Luana; Rodgers, Peter

2014-01-01

Venn diagrams with three curves are used extensively in various medical and scientific disciplines to visualize relationships between data sets and facilitate data analysis. The area of the regions formed by the overlapping curves is often directly proportional to the cardinality of the depicted set relation or any other related quantitative data. Drawing these diagrams manually is difficult and current automatic drawing methods do not always produce appropriate diagrams. Most methods depict the data sets as circles, as they perceptually pop out as complete distinct objects due to their smoothness and regularity. However, circles cannot draw accurate diagrams for most 3-set data and so the generated diagrams often have misleading region areas. Other methods use polygons to draw accurate diagrams. However, polygons are non-smooth and non-symmetric, so the curves are not easily distinguishable and the diagrams are difficult to comprehend. Ellipses are more flexible than circles and are similarly smooth, but none of the current automatic drawing methods use ellipses. We present eulerAPE as the first method and software that uses ellipses for automatically drawing accurate area-proportional Venn diagrams for 3-set data. We describe the drawing method adopted by eulerAPE and we discuss our evaluation of the effectiveness of eulerAPE and ellipses for drawing random 3-set data. We compare eulerAPE and various other methods that are currently available and we discuss differences between their generated diagrams in terms of accuracy and ease of understanding for real world data.

Sequential Tool Use in Great Apes

PubMed Central

Martin-Ordas, Gema; Schumacher, Lena; Call, Josep

2012-01-01

Sequential tool use is defined as using a tool to obtain another non-food object which subsequently itself will serve as a tool to act upon a further (sub)goal. Previous studies have shown that birds and great apes succeed in such tasks. However, the inclusion of a training phase for each of the sequential steps and the low cost associated with retrieving the longest tools limits the scope of the conclusions. The goal of the experiments presented here was, first to replicate a previous study on sequential tool use conducted on New Caledonian crows and, second, extend this work by increasing the cost of retrieving a tool in order to test tool selectivity of apes. In Experiment 1, we presented chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos with an out-of-reach reward, two tools that were available but too short to reach the food and four out-of-reach tools differing in functionality. Similar to crows, apes spontaneously used up to 3 tools in sequence to get the reward and also showed a strong preference for the longest out-of reach tool independently of the distance of the food. In Experiment 2, we increased the cost of reaching for the longest out-of reach tool. Now apes used up to 5 tools in sequence to get the reward and became more selective in their choice of the longest tool as the costs of its retrieval increased. The findings of the studies presented here contribute to the growing body of comparative research on tool use. PMID:23300592

Variable temporo-insular cortex neuroanatomy in primates suggests a bottleneck effect in eastern gorillas

PubMed Central

Barks, Sarah K.; Bauernfeind, Amy L.; Bonar, Christopher J.; Cranfield, Michael R.; de Sousa, Alexandra A.; Erwin, Joseph M.; Hopkins, William D.; Lewandowski, Albert H.; Mudakikwa, Antoine; Phillips, Kimberley A.; Raghanti, Mary Ann; Stimpson, Cheryl D.; Hof, Patrick R.; Zilles, Karl; Sherwood, Chet C.

2013-01-01

In this study, we describe an atypical neuroanatomical feature present in several primate species that involves a fusion between the temporal lobe (often including Heschl’s gyrus in great apes) and the posterior dorsal insula, such that a portion of insular cortex forms an isolated pocket medial to the Sylvian fissure. We assessed the frequency of this fusion in 56 primate species (including apes, Old World monkeys, New World monkeys, and strepsirrhines) using either magnetic resonance images or histological sections. A fusion between temporal cortex and posterior insula was present in 22 species (7 apes, 2 Old World monkeys, 4 New World monkeys, and 9 strepsirrhines). The temporo-insular fusion was observed in most eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei and G. b. graueri) specimens (62% and 100% of cases, respectively) but less frequently in other great apes and was never found in humans. We further explored the histology of this fusion in eastern gorillas by examining the cyto- and myeloarchitecture within this region, and observed that the degree to which deep cortical layers and white matter are incorporated into the fusion varies among individuals within a species. We suggest that fusion between temporal and insular cortex is an example of a relatively rare neuroanatomical feature that has become more common in eastern gorillas, possibly as the result of a population bottleneck effect. Characterizing the phylogenetic distribution of this morphology highlights a derived feature of these great apes. PMID:23939630

Measurement of Hemoglobin Synthesis Rate in Vivo Using a Stable Isotope Method

PubMed Central

Hibbert, Jacqueline M.; Sutherland, George B.; Wright, Luther L.; Wolfe, Luke G.; Wolfe, Kimberly A.; Gao, Shi Ping; Gore, Dennis C.; Abd-Elfattah, Anwar S.

2015-01-01

We developed a method to measure hemoglobin synthesis rate (SynHb) in humans, assuming that free glycine in the red blood cell (RBC) represents free glycine in bone marrow for hemoglobin synthesis. The present rat study examines this assumption of the method and quantifies SynHb in rats. Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 9) were studied, [2-13C]glycine was intravenously infused over 24 h (2.5 mg kg−1 h−1), blood was drawn for glycine and heme isolation, and bone marrow was harvested for glycine isolation. Isotopic enrichments of glycine and heme were measured, fractional hemoglobin synthesis rate (fSynHb% day−1) was calculated, and from this a value for SynHb (mg g−1 day−1) was derived. Mean body weight was 446 ± 10 g (mean ± SE) and hemoglobin concentration was 14 ± 0.5 g dl−1. At 24 h, the mean isotopic enrichment, atom percentage excess (APE), of the RBC free glycine (1.56 ± 0.18 APE) was similar to the bone marrow (1.68 ± 0.15 APE). The rate of incorporation of 13C into heme increased over time from 0.0004 APE/h between 6 and 12 h, to 0.0014 APE/h between 12 and 18 h, and 0.0024 APE/h between 18 and 24 h. Consequently, fSynHb (1.19 ± 0.32, 2.92 ± 0.66, and 4.22 ± 0.56% day−1, respectively) and SynHb (0.11 ± 0.03, 0.28 ± 0.05, and 0.42 ± 0.05 mg g−1 day−1, respectively) showed similar patterns over the 24-h study period. We conclude that (1) enrichment of free glycine in the circulating RBC approximates enrichment of bone marrow free glycine for heme formation and (2) this pattern of hemoglobin synthesis rate is reflecting the characteristic release and gradual maturation of reticulocytes in the circulation. PMID:11262164

Bonobo habituation in a forest-savanna mosaic habitat: influence of ape species, habitat type, and sociocultural context.

PubMed

Narat, Victor; Pennec, Flora; Simmen, Bruno; Ngawolo, Jean Christophe Bokika; Krief, Sabrina

2015-10-01

Habituation is the term used to describe acceptance by wild animals of a human observer as a neutral element in their environment. Among primates, the process takes from a few days for Galago spp. to several years for African apes. There are also intraspecies differences reflecting differences in habitat, home range, and ape-human relationship history. Here, we present the first study of the process of bonobo habituation in a fragmented habitat, a forest-savanna mosaic in the community-based conservation area led by the Congolese nongovernmental organization Mbou-Mon-Tour, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this area, local people use the forest almost every day for traditional activities but avoid bonobos because of a traditional taboo. Because very few flight reactions were observed during habituation, we focused on quantitative parameters to assess the development of ape tolerance and of the tracking efficiency of observer teams. During the 18-month study period (May 2012-October 2013), 4043 h (319 days) were spent in the forest and bonobos were observed for a total of 405 h (196 contacts on 134 days). The average contact duration was stable over time (124 min), but the minimal distance during a contact decreased with habituation effort. Moreover, bonobo location and tracking efficiency, daily ratio of contact time to habituation effort, and the number of observations at ground level were positively correlated with habituation effort. Our observations suggest that bonobos become habituated relatively rapidly. These results are discussed in relation to the habitat type, ape species, and the local sociocultural context of villagers. The habituation process involves changes in ape behavior toward observers and also more complex interactions concerning the ecosystem, including the building of an efficient local team. Before starting a habituation process, knowledge of the human sociocultural context is essential to assess the balance between risks and benefits.

Idealized numerical modeling of polar mesocyclones dynamics diagnosed by energy budget

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergeev, Dennis; Stepanenko, Victor

2014-05-01

Polar mesocyclones (MC) refer to a wide class of mesoscale vortices occuring poleward of the main polar front [1]. Their subtype - polar low - is commonly known for its intensity, that can result in windstorm damage of infrastructure in high latitudes. The observational data sparsity and the small size of polar MCs are major limitations for the clear understanding and numerical prediction of the evolution of these objects. The origin of polar MCs is still a matter of uncertainty, though the recent numerical investigations have exposed a strong dependence of the polar mesocyclone development upon the magnitude of baroclinicity and upon the water vapor concentration in the atmosphere. However, most of the previous studies focused on the individual polar low (the so-called case studies), with too many factors affecting it simultaneously and none of them being dominant in polar MC generation. This study focuses on the early stages of polar MC development within an idealized numerical experiments with mesoscale atmospheric model, where it is possible to look deeper into each single physical process. Our aim is to explain the role of such mechanisms as baroclinic instability or diabatic heating by comparing their contribution to the structure and dynamics of the vortex. The baroclinic instability, as reported by many researchers [2], can be a crucial factor in a MC's life cycle, especially in polar regions. Besides the baroclinic instability several diabatic processes can contribute to the energy generation that fuels a polar mesocyclone. One of the key energy sources in polar regions is surface heat fluxes. The other is the moisture content in the atmosphere that can affect the development of the disturbance by altering the latent heat release. To evaluate the relative importance of the diabatic and baroclinic energy sources for the development of the polar mesocyclone we apply energy diagnostics. In other words, we examine the rate of change of the kinetic energy (that can be interpreted as the growth rate of the vortex) and energy conversion in the diagnostic equations for kinetic and available potential energy (APE). The energy budget equations are implemented in two forms. The first approach follows the scheme developed by Lorenz (1955) in which KE and APE are broken into a mean component and an eddy component forming a well-known energy cycle. The second method is based on the energy equations that are strictly derived from the governing equations of the numerical mesoscale model used. The latter approach, hence, takes into account all the approximations and numerical features used in the model. Some conclusions based on the comparison of the described methods are presented in the study. A series of high-resolution experiments is carried out using three-dimensional non-hydrostatic limited-area sigma-coordinate numerical model ReMeDy (Research Mesoscale Dynamics), being developed at Lomonosov Moscow State University [3]. An idealized basic state condition is used for all simulations. It is composed of the zonally oriented baroclinic zone over the sea surface partly covered with ice. To realize a baroclinic channel environment zero-gradient boundary conditions at the meridional lateral oundaries are imposed, while the zonal boundary conditions are periodic. The initialization of the mesocyclone is achieved by creating a small axis-symmetric vortex in the center of the model domain. The baroclinicity and stratification of the basic state, as well as the surface parameters, are varied in the typically observed range. References 1. Heinemann G, Øyvind S. 2013. Workshop On Polar Lows. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 94: ES123-ES126. 2. Yanase W, Niino H. 2006. Dependence of Polar Low Development on Baroclinicity and Physical Processes: An Idealized High-Resolution Experiment, J. Atmos. Sci. 64: 3044-3067. 3. Chechin DG et al. 2013. Idealized dry quasi 2-D mesoscale simulations of cold-air outbreaks over the marginal sea ice zone with fine and coarse resolution. J. Geophys. Res. 118: 8787-8813.

Photoelectron Diffraction from Valence States of Oriented Molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krüger, Peter

2018-06-01

The angular distribution of photoelectrons emitted from valence states of oriented molecules is investigated. The principles underlying the angular pattern formation are explained in terms of photoelectron wave interference, caused by initial state delocalization and final state photoelectron scattering. Computational approaches to photoelectron spectroscopy from molecules are briefly reviewed. Here a combination of molecular orbital calculations for the initial state and multiple scattering theory for the photoelectron final state is used and applied to the 3σ and 4σ orbitals of nitrogen and the highest occupied molecular orbital of pentacene. Appreciable perpendicular emission and circular dichroism in angular distributions is found, two effects that cannot be described by the popular plane wave approximation to the photoelectron final state.

Field-free orientation of diatomic molecule via the linearly polarized resonant pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Su-Yu; Guo, Fu-Ming; Wang, Jun; Yang, Yu-Jun; Jin, Ming-Xing

2015-10-01

We propose a scheme to coherently control the field-free orientation of NO molecule whose rotational temperature is above 0 K. It is found that the maximum molecular orientation is affected by two factors: one is the sum of the population of M = 0 rotational states and the other is their distribution, however, their distribution plays a much more significant role in molecular orientation than the sum of their population. By adopting a series of linearly polarized pulses resonant with the rotational states, the distribution of M = 0 rotational states is well rearranged. Though the number of pulses used is small, a relatively high orientation degree can be obtained. This scheme provides a promising approach to the achievement of a good orientation effect. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB922200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11034003, 11474129, 11274141, and 11304116), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (Grant No. 20130061110021), and the Graduate Innovation Fund of Jilin University (Grant No. 2015091).

A fiber orientation-adapted integration scheme for computing the hyperelastic Tucker average for short fiber reinforced composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, Niels; Ospald, Felix; Schneider, Matti

2017-10-01

In this article we introduce a fiber orientation-adapted integration scheme for Tucker's orientation averaging procedure applied to non-linear material laws, based on angular central Gaussian fiber orientation distributions. This method is stable w.r.t. fiber orientations degenerating into planar states and enables the construction of orthotropic hyperelastic energies for truly orthotropic fiber orientation states. We establish a reference scenario for fitting the Tucker average of a transversely isotropic hyperelastic energy, corresponding to a uni-directional fiber orientation, to microstructural simulations, obtained by FFT-based computational homogenization of neo-Hookean constituents. We carefully discuss ideas for accelerating the identification process, leading to a tremendous speed-up compared to a naive approach. The resulting hyperelastic material map turns out to be surprisingly accurate, simple to integrate in commercial finite element codes and fast in its execution. We demonstrate the capabilities of the extracted model by a finite element analysis of a fiber reinforced chain link.

Zoo Visitor Knowledge and Attitudes toward Gorillas and Chimpanzees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukas, K. E.; Ross, S. R.

2005-01-01

The authors conducted an evaluation of visitor knowledge and conservation attitudes toward African apes at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. Using S. R. Kellert's and J. Dunlap's (1989) analysis of zoo visitor knowledge and attitudes as a model, they modified and administered a survey to 1,000 visitors to the ape facility. On average, visitors correctly…

76 FR 30187 - Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-24

...-trade smuggling are devastating populations of tigers, rhinos, marine turtles, great apes, elephants... administers competitive grant programs funded under the: African Elephant Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 4201-4245). Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 4261). Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000...

Apollo Photograph Evaluation (APE) programming manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, I. J.

1974-01-01

This document describes the programming techniques used to implement the equations of the Apollo Photograph Evaluation (APE) program on the UNIVAC 1108 computer and contains detailed descriptions of the program structure, a User's Guide section to provide the necessary information for proper operation of the program, and information for the assessment of the program's adaptability to future problems.

Comprehension of Novel Communicative Signs by Apes and Human Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomasello, Michael; Call, Josep; Gluckman, Andrea

1997-01-01

Compared comprehension of novel communicative signs to assist 2.5- and 3-year-old humans, chimpanzees, and orangutans find hidden objects during a hiding-finding game. Found that children at both ages performed above chance with all signs. No ape performed above chance for any signs not known before the experiment despite three times as many…

[Ardipithecus ramidus, another link in the Descent of Man].

PubMed

Gilgenkrantz, Simone

2010-03-01

An international team of paleontologists reports in Science an early hominid species, Ardipithecus ramidus and its environment. The features are shared by Sahelanthropus tchadensis, and these similarities confirm that Sahelanthropus is not an extinct ape. They help us bridge the more recent part of human evolution with the early human fossils and older ape fossils.

Transferability of HIV by arthropods supports the hypothesis about transmission of the virus from apes to man

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eigen, Manfred; Kloft, Werner; Brandner, Gerhard

2002-03-01

The primate Pan troglodytes troglodytes, a chimpanzee subspecies, has recently been defined as a natural animal host of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Apes are traditionally hunted in Africa and are offered for sale in open-air meat markets. The bloody carcasses are regularly covered with blood-feeding flies, amongst them possibly the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans L.), a cosmopolitically occurring biting fly. This fly is the effective vector for the retrovirus causing equine leukemia. According to laboratory experiments, the infectivity of ingested HIV is not reduced in the regurgitates of this fly. These findings are combined to explain the mechanism for a possible primary transmission of HIV from ape to man.

The "Make Love, Not War" Ape: Bonobos and Late Twentieth-Century Explanations for War and Peace.

PubMed

Weinstein, Deborah

2016-12-01

Why do people fight wars? Following the devastation of the Second World War, this question became particularly pressing. Postwar scholars in the human sciences, from political science to anthropology, investigated the role of human nature in the causes of war even as they debated the very meaning of human nature itself. Among the wide-ranging efforts of postwar social and behavioral scientists to explain the causes of war, research on primate aggression became a compelling approach to studying the evolution of human warfare. In contrast, primatologist Frans de Waal's popular and scientific publications on primate reconciliation emphasized the naturalness of conflict resolution and peacemaking, thereby providing a counterpoint to the pessimism of aggression research while simultaneously shoring up the logic of simian analogy. De Waal's popular books heralded the "make love, not war" bonobo as humans' evolutionary next-of-kin and contributed to raising public interest in bonobos during the late twentieth century, although the apes' popular reputation subsequently exceeded the scientific discourse about them. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-Cohering Airborne Distributed Array

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

F19628-84- C -0080 ft. ADDRESS (City, State, and ZIP Code) 10. SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMBERS PROGRAM PROJECT JTASK JWORK UNIT Hanscom APE MA 01731-5000...algorithms under consideration (including the newly developed algorithms). The algorithms are classified both according to the type c -f processing and...4.1 RADIO CAMERA DATA FORMAT AND PROCEDURES (FROM C -23) The range trace delivered by each antenna element is stonred as a rc’w of coimplex number-s

Object-oriented analysis and design of a health care management information system.

PubMed

Krol, M; Reich, D L

1999-04-01

We have created a prototype for a universal object-oriented model of a health care system compatible with the object-oriented approach used in version 3.0 of the HL7 standard for communication messages. A set of three models has been developed: (1) the Object Model describes the hierarchical structure of objects in a system--their identity, relationships, attributes, and operations; (2) the Dynamic Model represents the sequence of operations in time as a collection of state diagrams for object classes in the system; and (3) functional Diagram represents the transformation of data within a system by means of data flow diagrams. Within these models, we have defined major object classes of health care participants and their subclasses, associations, attributes and operators, states, and behavioral scenarios. We have also defined the major processes and subprocesses. The top-down design approach allows use, reuse, and cloning of standard components.

The von Economo neurons in frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans.

PubMed

Allman, John M; Tetreault, Nicole A; Hakeem, Atiya Y; Manaye, Kebreten F; Semendeferi, Katerina; Erwin, Joseph M; Park, Soyoung; Goubert, Virginie; Hof, Patrick R

2010-06-01

The von Economo neurons (VENs) are large bipolar neurons located in frontoinsular (FI) and anterior cingulate cortex in great apes and humans, but not other primates. We performed stereological counts of the VENs in FI and LA (limbic anterior, a component of anterior cingulate cortex) in great apes and in humans. The VENs are more numerous in humans than in apes, although one gorilla approached the lower end of the human range. We also examined the ontological development of the VENs in FI and LA in humans. The VENs first appear in small numbers in the 36th week post-conception, are rare at birth, and increase in number during the first 8 months after birth. There are significantly more VENs in the right hemisphere than in the left in FI and LA in postnatal brains of apes and humans. This asymmetry in VEN numbers may be related to asymmetries in the autonomic nervous system. The activity of the inferior anterior insula, which contains FI, is related to physiological changes in the body, decision-making, error recognition, and awareness. The VENs appear to be projection neurons, although their targets are unknown. We made a preliminary study of the connections of FI cortex based on diffusion tensor imaging in the brain of a gorilla. The VEN-containing regions connect to the frontal pole as well as to other parts of frontal and insular cortex, the septum, and the amygdala. It is likely that the VENs in FI are projecting to some or all of these structures and relaying information related to autonomic control, decision-making, or awareness. The VENs selectively express the bombesin peptides neuromedin B (NMB) and gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) which are also expressed in another population of closely related neurons, the fork cells. NMB and GRP signal satiety. The genes for NMB and GRP are expressed selectively in small populations of neurons in the insular cortex in mice. These populations may be related to the VEN and fork cells and may be involved in the regulation of appetite. The loss of these cells may be related to the loss of satiety signaling in patients with frontotemporal dementia who have damage to FI. The VENs and fork cells may be morphological specializations of an ancient population of neurons involved in the control of appetite present in the insular cortex in all mammals. We found that the protein encoded by the gene DISC1 (disrupted in schizophrenia) is preferentially expressed by the VENs. DISC1 has undergone rapid evolutionary change in the line leading to humans, and since it suppresses dendritic branching it may be involved in the distinctive VEN morphology.

Facial perception of conspecifics: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) preferentially attend to proper orientation and open eyes.

PubMed

Hirata, Satoshi; Fuwa, Koki; Sugama, Keiko; Kusunoki, Kiyo; Fujita, Shin

2010-09-01

This paper reports on the use of an eye-tracking technique to examine how chimpanzees look at facial photographs of conspecifics. Six chimpanzees viewed a sequence of pictures presented on a monitor while their eye movements were measured by an eye tracker. The pictures presented conspecific faces with open or closed eyes in an upright or inverted orientation in a frame. The results demonstrated that chimpanzees looked at the eyes, nose, and mouth more frequently than would be expected on the basis of random scanning of faces. More specifically, they looked at the eyes longer than they looked at the nose and mouth when photographs of upright faces with open eyes were presented, suggesting that particular attention to the eyes represents a spontaneous face-scanning strategy shared among monkeys, apes, and humans. In contrast to the results obtained for upright faces with open eyes, the viewing times for the eyes, nose, and mouth of inverted faces with open eyes did not differ from one another. The viewing times for the eyes, nose, and mouth of faces with closed eyes did not differ when faces with closed eyes were presented in either an upright or inverted orientation. These results suggest the possibility that open eyes play an important role in the configural processing of faces and that chimpanzees perceive and process open and closed eyes differently.

Chimpanzees understand psychological states - the question is which ones and to what extent.

PubMed

Tomasello, Michael; Call, Josep; Hare, Brian

2003-04-01

New data suggest that relatively drastic revisions are needed in our theoretical accounts of what other animal species understand about the psychological states of others. Specifically, chimpanzees seem to understand some things about what others do and do not see, or have and have not seen in the immediate past, as well as some things about others' goal-directed activities. This is especially so in competitive situations. They clearly do not have a human-like theory of mind, however, and so the challenge is to specify precisely how ape and human social cognition are similar and different.

Age-related changes in molar topography and shearing crest length in a wild population of mountain Gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

PubMed

Glowacka, Halszka; McFarlin, Shannon C; Catlett, Kierstin K; Mudakikwa, Antoine; Bromage, Timothy G; Cranfield, Michael R; Stoinski, Tara S; Schwartz, Gary T

2016-05-01

Great ape teeth must remain functional over long lifespans. The molars of the most folivorous apes, the mountain gorillas, must maintain shearing function for 40+ years while the animals consume large quantities of mechanically challenging foods. While other folivorous primates experience dental senescence, which compromises their occlusal surfaces and affects their reproductive success as they age, it is unknown whether dental senescence also occurs in mountain gorillas. In this article, we quantified and evaluated how mountain gorilla molars change throughout their long lifespans. We collected high-resolution replicas of M(1)s (n = 15), M(2)s (n = 13), and M(3)s (n = 11) from a cross-sectional sample of wild mountain gorilla skeletons from the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in age from 4 to 43 years. We employed dental topographic analyses to track how aspects of occlusal slope, angularity, relief index, and orientation patch count rotated change with age. In addition, we measured the relative length of shearing crests in two- and three-dimensions. Occlusal topography was found to decrease, while 2D relative shearing crest length increased, and 3D relative crest lengths were maintained with age. Our findings indicate that shearing function is maintained throughout the long lifetimes of mountain gorillas. Unlike the dental senescence experienced by other folivorous primates, mountain gorillas do not appear to possess senesced molars despite their long lifetimes, mechanically challenging diets, and decreases in occlusal topography with age. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Protective effect of apple (Ralls) polyphenol extract against aluminum-induced cognitive impairment and oxidative damage in rat.

PubMed

Cheng, Dai; Xi, Yu; Cao, Jiankang; Cao, Dongdong; Ma, Yuxia; Jiang, Weibo

2014-12-01

Aluminum (Al) has long been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dietary polyphenols have been strongly associated with reduced risk of AD and the other nervous diseases. We aimed to evaluate the preventive effect of the apple polyphenol extract (APE) on Al-induced biotoxicity, in order to provide a new focus on the design of strategies to prevent AD and the other human diseases related to Al overload. Control, Al-treated (171.8 mg Al kg(-1)day(-1) 10 weeks), APE+Al (Al-treatment as previously plus 200 mg kg(-1)day(-1) 10 weeks), and group of APE per se were used. Al intake caused memory impairment, significant decrease of acetylcholinesterase, CK, SOD, CAT activity and the rate of ATP synthesis, increase the Al content, the level of malondialdehyde and β-amyloid 42. Administration of APE significantly improved memory retention, attenuated oxidative damage, acetylcholinesterase activity and Al level in Al treated rats. Furthermore, chlorogenic acid (ChA) was used for analyzing stability of polyphenols-Al(3+) complex. Log K1 was 10.51, and the mole ratio of Al(3+) to ligand was 1:1. We further found that the amounts of Al increased significantly in feces of the rats gavaged with AlCl3 plus ChA compared with AlCl3. Our finding has shown APE has neuroprotective effects against Al-induced biotoxicity. Chelating with Al and disturbing its absorption could account for the neuroprotective roles of dietary polyphenols against Al toxicity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The behavioral ecology of sympatric African apes: implications for understanding fossil hominoid ecology.

PubMed

Stanford, Craig B

2006-01-01

The behavioral ecology of the great apes is key evidence used in the reconstruction of the behavior of extinct ape and hominid taxa. Chimpanzees and gorillas have been studied in detail in the wild, and some studies of their behavioral ecology in sympatry have also been been carried out. Although the two ape species have divergent behavior and ecology in important respects, recent studies have shown that the interspecific differences are not as stark as previously thought and subsequently urge new consideration of how they share forest resources when sympatric. These new data require re-examination of assumptions about key aspects of chimpanzee-gorilla ecological divergence, such as diet, ranging and nesting patterns, and the mating system. Diet is a key component of the species' adaptive complexes that facilitates avoidance of direct competition from the other. While the nutritional basis for chimpanzee food choice remains unclear and no doubt varies from site to site, this species is a ripe fruit specialist and ranges farther during periods of ripe fruit scarcity. Gorillas in the same habitat also feed on ripe fruit when widely available, but fall back onto fibrous plant foods during lean periods. The inclusion of animal protein in the diet of the chimpanzees and its absence in that of the gorillas also distinguish the species ecologically. It may also offer clues to aspects of ecological divergence among early members of the hominid phylogeny. The paper concludes by suggesting likely characteristics of sympatric associations of Pliocene hominids, based on field data from extant sympatric apes.

Dental development and life history in living African and Asian apes.

PubMed

Kelley, Jay; Schwartz, Gary T

2010-01-19

Life-history inference is an important aim of paleoprimatology, but life histories cannot be discerned directly from the fossil record. Among extant primates, the timing of many life-history attributes is correlated with the age at emergence of the first permanent molar (M1), which can therefore serve as a means to directly compare the life histories of fossil and extant species. To date, M1 emergence ages exist for only a small fraction of extant primate species and consist primarily of data from captive individuals, which may show accelerated dental eruption compared with free-living individuals. Data on M1 emergence ages in wild great apes exist for only a single chimpanzee individual, with data for gorillas and orangutans being anecdotal. This paucity of information limits our ability to make life-history inferences using the M1 emergence ages of extinct ape and hominin species. Here we report reliable ages at M1 emergence for the orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus (4.6 y), and the gorilla, Gorilla gorilla (3.8 y), obtained from the dental histology of wild-shot individuals in museum collections. These ages and the one reported age at M1 emergence in a free-living chimpanzee of approximately 4.0 y are highly concordant with the comparative life histories of these great apes. They are also consistent with the average age at M1 emergence in relation to the timing of life-history events in modern humans, thus confirming the utility of M1 emergence ages for life-history inference and providing a basis for making reliable life-history inferences for extinct apes and hominins.

Accuracy of three Android-based pedometer applications in laboratory and free-living settings.

PubMed

Leong, Jia Yan; Wong, Jyh Eiin

2017-01-01

This study examines the accuracy of three popular, free Android-based pedometer applications (apps), namely, Runtastic (RT), Pacer Works (PW), and Tayutau (TY) in laboratory and free-living settings. Forty-eight adults (22.5 ± 1.4 years) completed 3-min bouts of treadmill walking at five incremental speeds while carrying a test smartphone installed with the three apps. Experiment was repeated thrice, with the smartphone placed either in the pants pockets, at waist level, or secured to the left arm by an armband. The actual step count was manually counted by a tally counter. In the free-living setting, each of the 44 participants (21.9 ± 1.6 years) carried a smartphone with installed apps and a reference pedometer (Yamax Digi-Walker CW700) for 7 consecutive days. Results showed that TY produced the lowest mean absolute percent error (APE 6.7%) and was the only app with acceptable accuracy in counting steps in a laboratory setting. RT consistently underestimated steps with APE of 16.8% in the laboratory. PW significantly underestimated steps when the smartphone was secured to the arm, but overestimated under other conditions (APE 19.7%). TY was the most accurate app in counting steps in a laboratory setting with the lowest APE of 6.7%. In the free-living setting, the APE relative to the reference pedometer was 16.6%, 18.0%, and 16.8% for RT, PW, and TY, respectively. None of the three apps counted steps accurately in the free-living setting.

Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Modular Approach to a Pharmacist-Oriented Course in Oncology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abate, Marie A.; And Others

1982-01-01

A project to develop, implement, and evaluate a slide/text modular oncology course teaching disease state and pharmacist-oriented information to pharmacy students, with potential adaptation for pharmacist continuing education, is described. Module effectiveness was evaluated using a pretest, posttest design, with group mean comparisons across both…

A Systems Approach to Mitigate Oriental Fruit Fly Risk in ‘Sharwil’ Avocados Exported From Hawaii

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Avocados, Persea americana Miller, grown in Hawaii cannot be exported to the United States mainland without quarantine treatment for melon fly, oriental fruit fly, and Mediterranean fruit fly. The most widely grown cultivar of avocado in Hawaii is ‘Sharwil’. ‘Sharwil’, like other avocado varieties, ...

Ebolavirus Vaccines for Humans and Apes

PubMed Central

Fausther-Bovendo, Hugues; Mulangu, Sabue

2012-01-01

Due to high case fatality proportions, person-to-person transmission, and potential use in bioterrorism, the development of a vaccine against ebolavirus remains a top priority. Although no licensed vaccine or treatment against ebolavirus is currently available, progress in preclinical testing of countermeasures has been made. Here, we will review ebolavirus vaccine candidates and considerations for their use in humans and wild apes. PMID:22560007

The Role of Socio-Communicative Rearing Environments in the Development of Social and Physical Cognition in Apes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Jamie L.; Lyn, Heidi; Schaeffer, Jennifer A.; Hopkins, William D.

2011-01-01

The cultural intelligence hypothesis (CIH) claims that humans' advanced cognition is a direct result of human culture and that children are uniquely specialized to absorb and utilize this cultural experience (Tomasello, 2000). Comparative data demonstrating that 2.5-year-old human children outperform apes on measures of social cognition but not on…

What Does an Intermediate Success Rate Mean? An Analysis of a Piagetian Liquid Conservation Task in the Great Apes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suda, Chikako; Call, Josep

2006-01-01

The study investigates what an intermediate success rate means in bonobos, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Apes participated in liquid conservation experiments where they had to track the larger of two different quantities of juice after various kinds of transformations [Suda, C., & Call, J. (2004). Piagetian liquid conservation in the great apes…

Making Meaning out of Human/Animal: Scientific Competition of Classifications in the Spanish Legislature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Ross

2010-01-01

In the summer of 2008, the Spanish legislature resolved to grant great apes (though not all simians) basic human rights. While the decision to grant such rights came about largely through the lobbying efforts of the Great Ape Project (GAP), the decision has potential reverberations throughout the scientific world and beyond in its implications for…

Evidence of a chimpanzee-sized ancestor of humans but a gibbon-sized ancestor of apes.

PubMed

Grabowski, Mark; Jungers, William L

2017-10-12

Body mass directly affects how an animal relates to its environment and has a wide range of biological implications. However, little is known about the mass of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees, hominids (great apes and humans), or hominoids (all apes and humans), which is needed to evaluate numerous paleobiological hypotheses at and prior to the root of our lineage. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods and data from primates including humans, fossil hominins, and a wide sample of fossil primates including Miocene apes from Africa, Europe, and Asia to test alternative hypotheses of body mass evolution. Our results suggest, contrary to previous suggestions, that the LCA of all hominoids lived in an environment that favored a gibbon-like size, but a series of selective regime shifts, possibly due to resource availability, led to a decrease and then increase in body mass in early hominins from a chimpanzee-sized LCA.The pattern of body size evolution in hominids can provide insight into historical human ecology. Here, Grabowski and Jungers use comparative phylogenetic analysis to reconstruct the likely size of the ancestor of humans and chimpanzees and the evolutionary history of selection on body size in primates.

Differential resource utilization by extant great apes and australopithecines: towards solving the C4 conundrum.

PubMed

Sponheimer, Matt; Lee-Thorp, Julia A

2003-09-01

Morphological and biogeochemical evidence suggest that australopithecines had diets markedly different from those of extant great apes. Stable carbon isotope analysis, for example, has shown that significant amounts of the carbon consumed by australopithecines were derived from C(4) photosynthesis in plants. This means that australopithecines were eating large quantities of C(4) plants such as tropical grasses and sedges, or were eating animals that were themselves eating C(4) plants. In contrast, there is no evidence that modern apes consume appreciable amounts of any of these foods, even in the most arid extents of their ranges where these foods are most prevalent. Environmental reconstructions of early australopithecine environments overlap with modern chimpanzee habitats. This, in conjunction with the stable isotope evidence, suggests that australopithecines and great apes, even in similar environments, would utilize available resources differently. Thus, the desire or capacity to use C(4) foods may be a basal character of our lineage. We do not know, however, which of the nutritionally disparate C(4) foods were utilized by hominids. Here we discuss which C(4) resources were most likely consumed by australopithecines, as well as the potential nutritional, physiological, and social consequences of eating these foods.

Spatial organization of neurons in the frontal pole sets humans apart from great apes.

PubMed

Semendeferi, Katerina; Teffer, Kate; Buxhoeveden, Dan P; Park, Min S; Bludau, Sebastian; Amunts, Katrin; Travis, Katie; Buckwalter, Joseph

2011-07-01

Few morphological differences have been identified so far that distinguish the human brain from the brains of our closest relatives, the apes. Comparative analyses of the spatial organization of cortical neurons, including minicolumns, can aid our understanding of the functionally relevant aspects of microcircuitry. We measured horizontal spacing distance and gray-level ratio in layer III of 4 regions of human and ape cortex in all 6 living hominoid species: frontal pole (Brodmann area [BA] 10), and primary motor (BA 4), primary somatosensory (BA 3), and primary visual cortex (BA 17). Our results identified significant differences between humans and apes in the frontal pole (BA 10). Within the human brain, there were also significant differences between the frontal pole and 2 of the 3 regions studied (BA 3 and BA 17). Differences between BA 10 and BA 4 were present but did not reach significance. These findings in combination with earlier findings on BA 44 and BA 45 suggest that human brain evolution was likely characterized by an increase in the number and width of minicolumns and the space available for interconnectivity between neurons in the frontal lobe, especially the prefrontal cortex.

Making sense of behavioral irregularities of great apes.

PubMed

Fabrega, Horacio

2006-01-01

Psychopathology, mental illness, and psychiatric treatment are concepts relevant to modern medicine and medical psychology and replete with cumbersome intellectual and literary baggage. They bear the imprint of suppositions, world views, and general beliefs and values exemplified in the science, history, and general culture of Anglo European societies. The study in higher apes of phenomena addressed by such concepts raises conceptual dilemmas, usually termed speciesism and anthropomorphism, not unlike those encountered in comparative human studies of similar phenomena across cultures and historical periods, namely, ethnocentrism and anachronism. The authors' synthesis of literature and their analysis of the implications of higher ape psychopathology represent an epistemically compelling account that broadens the scope of the comparative study of behavioral irregularities, a topic that provides a different slant for examining challenging questions in evolutionary biology and primatology, such as cognition, self awareness, intentional behavior, culture and behavioral traditions, social intelligence, sickness and healing, and altruism. Theoretical and empirical study of this topic expands formulation and can help provide informative answers about human evolution as well as essential features of human psychiatric syndromes, with potential practical implications. The study of psychopathology of higher apes and other non human primates represents an appropriate focus for neuroscience and bio-behavioral sciences.

BLOOD PRODUCT TRANSFUSIONS IN GREAT APES: A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF 12 CASES.

PubMed

Hahn, Alicia; Sturgeon, Ginger; Rossi, Joseph

2017-06-01

Although the administration of blood and blood products can be lifesaving, transfusions in exotic species are less common because of the lack of knowledge of a species' blood groups, the availability of species-specific donors, and possible adverse effects. Recently, blood groups were elucidated in great apes; however, few reports have been published regarding actual transfusion situations in these species. This information is critical because poorly executed transfusions can compromise already weakened patients or result in the death of the recipient. In 2014, a retrospective survey of U.S. zoos housing great apes received 45 of 67 responses; from which, 12 transfusion cases in great apes were identified, including Sumatran orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus sumatraensis, n = 4), chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes , n = 1), and western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla, n = 7). These animals, ranging from birth to 31 yr, received intravenous transfusions of whole blood, packed red blood cells, or human albumin. Overall, animals that received transfusions for anemia because of chronic illness or blood loss survived, but those individuals with concurrent life-threatening issues did not survive. No adverse reactions related to the transfusion occurred, except in two orangutans given human albumin.

All great ape species (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Pongo abelii) and two-and-a-half-year-old children (Homo sapiens) discriminate appearance from reality.

PubMed

Karg, Katja; Schmelz, Martin; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael

2014-11-01

Nonhuman great apes and human children were tested for an understanding that appearance does not always correspond to reality. Subjects were 29 great apes (bonobos [Pan paniscus], chimpanzees [Pan troglodytes], gorillas [Gorilla gorilla], and orangutans [Pongo abelii]) and 24 2½-year-old children. In our task, we occluded portions of 1 large and 1 small food stick such that the size relations seemed reversed. Subjects could then choose which one they wanted. There was 1 control condition and 2 experimental conditions (administered within subjects). In the control condition subjects saw only the apparent stick sizes, whereas in the 2 experimental conditions they saw the true stick sizes as well (the difference between them being what the subjects saw first: the apparent or the real stick sizes). All great ape species and children successfully identified the bigger stick, despite its smaller appearance, in the experimental conditions, but not in the control. We discuss these results in relation to the understanding of object permanence and conservation, and exclude reversed reward contingency learning as an explanation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Graphene nanoribbons as a drug delivery agent for lucanthone mediated therapy of glioblastoma multiforme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chowdhury, Sayan Mullick; Surhland, Cassandra; Sanchez, Zina

We report use of PEG-DSPE coated oxidized graphene nanoribbons (O-GNR-PEG-DSPE) as agent for delivery of anti-tumor drug Lucanthone (Luc) into Glioblastoma Multiformae (GBM) cells targeting base excision repair enzyme APE-1 (Apurinic endonuclease-1). Lucanthone, an endonuclease inhibitor of APE-1, was loaded onto O-GNR-PEG-DSPEs using a simple non-covalent method. We found its uptake by GBM cell line U251 exceeding 67% and 60% in APE-1-overexpressing U251, post 24 hours (h). However, their uptake was ~38% and 29% by MCF-7 and rat glial progenitor cells (CG-4), respectively. TEM analysis of U251 showed large aggregates of O-GNR-PEG-DSPE in vesicles. Luc-O-GNR-PEG-DSPE was significantly toxic to U251more » but showed little / no toxicity when exposed to MCF-7/CG-4 cells. This differential uptake effect can be exploited to use O-GNR-PEG-DSPEs as a vehicle for Luc delivery to GBM, while reducing nonspecific cytotoxicity to the surrounding healthy tissue. In conclusion, cell death in U251 was necrotic, probably due to oxidative degradation of APE-1.« less

Occurrence and Distribution Pattern of Alkylphenol Ethoxylates and Brominated Flame Retardants in Sediment Samples from Vaal River, South Africa.

PubMed

Chokwe, T B; Okonkwo, O J; Sibali, L L; Mporetji, S M

2016-09-01

High environmental concentrations for alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been observed near cities than in rural environment. This is due, in part, to sewage systems receiving effluents from many industrial processes along with domestic wastewater. While these classes of compounds are being phased out in most developed countries, there is still widespread use in low to middle income countries. To better understand the extent of APEs and BFRs contamination in the environment, this study reports on the concentration and distribution of APEs and BFRs in sediments samples collected from Vaal River, South Africa. Measurable concentrations of these contaminants were obtained using GC-MS after heptafluorobutyric derivatization. The concentrations range (ng g(-1)) for these pollutants were as follows: nd-46, 20-127, 24-38, 3-5, 14-28, 16-54 for octylphenol penta ethoxylates, nonylphenol ethoxylates (mono- di), nonylphenol penta ethoxylates, PBB101, PBDEs, and HBCD; respectively. The distribution observed in this study indicated higher levels of sediment contamination by APEs relative to BFRs. These results underline the need to further investigate the burden and risks associated with chemical contamination in developing countries.

Distinctiveness enhances long-term event memory in non-human primates, irrespective of reinforcement.

PubMed

Lewis, Amy; Call, Josep; Berntsen, Dorthe

2017-08-01

Non-human primates are capable of recalling events that occurred as long as 3 years ago, and are able to distinguish between similar events; akin to human memory. In humans, distinctiveness enhances memory for events, however, it is unknown whether the same occurs in non-human primates. As such, we tested three great ape species on their ability to remember an event that varied in distinctiveness. Across three experiments, apes witnessed a baiting event in which one of three identical containers was baited with food. After a delay of 2 weeks, we tested their memory for the location of the baited container. Apes failed to recall the baited container when the event was undistinctive (Experiment 1), but were successful when it was distinctive (Experiment 2), although performance was equally good in a less-distinctive condition. A third experiment (Experiment 3) confirmed that distinctiveness, independent of reinforcement, was a consistent predictor of performance. These findings suggest that distinctiveness may enhance memory for events in non-human primates in the same way as in humans, and provides further evidence of basic similarities between the ways apes and humans remember past events. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Graphene nanoribbons as a drug delivery agent for lucanthone mediated therapy of glioblastoma multiforme

DOE PAGES

Chowdhury, Sayan Mullick; Surhland, Cassandra; Sanchez, Zina; ...

2014-08-13

We report use of PEG-DSPE coated oxidized graphene nanoribbons (O-GNR-PEG-DSPE) as agent for delivery of anti-tumor drug Lucanthone (Luc) into Glioblastoma Multiformae (GBM) cells targeting base excision repair enzyme APE-1 (Apurinic endonuclease-1). Lucanthone, an endonuclease inhibitor of APE-1, was loaded onto O-GNR-PEG-DSPEs using a simple non-covalent method. We found its uptake by GBM cell line U251 exceeding 67% and 60% in APE-1-overexpressing U251, post 24 hours (h). However, their uptake was ~38% and 29% by MCF-7 and rat glial progenitor cells (CG-4), respectively. TEM analysis of U251 showed large aggregates of O-GNR-PEG-DSPE in vesicles. Luc-O-GNR-PEG-DSPE was significantly toxic to U251more » but showed little / no toxicity when exposed to MCF-7/CG-4 cells. This differential uptake effect can be exploited to use O-GNR-PEG-DSPEs as a vehicle for Luc delivery to GBM, while reducing nonspecific cytotoxicity to the surrounding healthy tissue. In conclusion, cell death in U251 was necrotic, probably due to oxidative degradation of APE-1.« less

Morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. I. Muscle architecture.

PubMed

Payne, R C; Crompton, R H; Isler, K; Savage, R; Vereecke, E E; Günther, M M; Thorpe, S K S; D'Août, K

2006-06-01

We present quantitative data on the hindlimb musculature of Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Gorilla gorilla graueri, Pongo pygmaeus abelii and Hylobates lar and discuss the findings in relation to the locomotor habits of each. Muscle mass and fascicle length data were obtained for all major hindlimb muscles. Physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) was estimated. Data were normalized assuming geometric similarity to allow for comparison of animals of different size/species. Muscle mass scaled closely to (body mass)(1.0) and fascicle length scaled closely to (body mass)(0.3) in most species. However, human hindlimb muscles were heavy and had short fascicles per unit body mass when compared with non-human apes. Gibbon hindlimb anatomy shared some features with human hindlimbs that were not observed in the non-human great apes: limb circumferences tapered from proximal-to-distal, fascicle lengths were short per unit body mass and tendons were relatively long. Non-human great ape hindlimb muscles were, by contrast, characterized by long fascicles arranged in parallel, with little/no tendon of insertion. Such an arrangement of muscle architecture would be useful for locomotion in a three dimensionally complex arboreal environment.

Morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. I. Muscle architecture

PubMed Central

Payne, R C; Crompton, R H; Isler, K; Savage, R; Vereecke, E E; Günther, M M; Thorpe, S K S; D'Août, K

2006-01-01

We present quantitative data on the hindlimb musculature of Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Gorilla gorilla graueri, Pongo pygmaeus abelii and Hylobates lar and discuss the findings in relation to the locomotor habits of each. Muscle mass and fascicle length data were obtained for all major hindlimb muscles. Physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) was estimated. Data were normalized assuming geometric similarity to allow for comparison of animals of different size/species. Muscle mass scaled closely to (body mass)1.0 and fascicle length scaled closely to (body mass)0.3 in most species. However, human hindlimb muscles were heavy and had short fascicles per unit body mass when compared with non-human apes. Gibbon hindlimb anatomy shared some features with human hindlimbs that were not observed in the non-human great apes: limb circumferences tapered from proximal-to-distal, fascicle lengths were short per unit body mass and tendons were relatively long. Non-human great ape hindlimb muscles were, by contrast, characterized by long fascicles arranged in parallel, with little/no tendon of insertion. Such an arrangement of muscle architecture would be useful for locomotion in a three dimensionally complex arboreal environment. PMID:16761973

The nature of visual self-recognition.

PubMed

Suddendorf, Thomas; Butler, David L

2013-03-01

Visual self-recognition is often controversially cited as an indicator of self-awareness and assessed with the mirror-mark test. Great apes and humans, unlike small apes and monkeys, have repeatedly passed mirror tests, suggesting that the underlying brain processes are homologous and evolved 14-18 million years ago. However, neuroscientific, developmental, and clinical dissociations show that the medium used for self-recognition (mirror vs photograph vs video) significantly alters behavioral and brain responses, likely due to perceptual differences among the different media and prior experience. On the basis of this evidence and evolutionary considerations, we argue that the visual self-recognition skills evident in humans and great apes are a byproduct of a general capacity to collate representations, and need not index other aspects of self-awareness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamics of Alliance Formation and the Egalitarian Revolution

PubMed Central

Gavrilets, Sergey; Duenez-Guzman, Edgar A.; Vose, Michael D.

2008-01-01

Background Arguably the most influential force in human history is the formation of social coalitions and alliances (i.e., long-lasting coalitions) and their impact on individual power. Understanding the dynamics of alliance formation and its consequences for biological, social, and cultural evolution is a formidable theoretical challenge. In most great ape species, coalitions occur at individual and group levels and among both kin and non-kin. Nonetheless, ape societies remain essentially hierarchical, and coalitions rarely weaken social inequality. In contrast, human hunter-gatherers show a remarkable tendency to egalitarianism, and human coalitions and alliances occur not only among individuals and groups, but also among groups of groups. These observations suggest that the evolutionary dynamics of human coalitions can only be understood in the context of social networks and cognitive evolution. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we develop a stochastic model describing the emergence of networks of allies resulting from within-group competition for status or mates between individuals utilizing dyadic information. The model shows that alliances often emerge in a phase transition-like fashion if the group size, awareness, aggressiveness, and persuasiveness of individuals are large and the decay rate of individual affinities is small. With cultural inheritance of social networks, a single leveling alliance including all group members can emerge in several generations. Conclusions/Significance We propose a simple and flexible theoretical approach for studying the dynamics of alliance emergence applicable where game-theoretic methods are not practical. Our approach is both scalable and expandable. It is scalable in that it can be generalized to larger groups, or groups of groups. It is expandable in that it allows for inclusion of additional factors such as behavioral, genetic, social, and cultural features. Our results suggest that a rapid transition from a hierarchical society of great apes to an egalitarian society of hunter-gatherers (often referred to as “egalitarian revolution”) could indeed follow an increase in human cognitive abilities. The establishment of stable group-wide egalitarian alliances creates conditions promoting the origin of cultural norms favoring the group interests over those of individuals. PMID:18827928

Output orientation in R and D: A better approach?. [decision making in R and D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Black, G.

1974-01-01

Research and development management is examined as it might be performed under an output-oriented approach in which the company's needs for innovations in various product and production areas were identified. It is shown that a company's R and D program is the aggregate of its needs in various areas of its business. The planning, programming and budgeting approach is applied to R and D. The state of theory on R and D decision making in economics is summarized. Abstracts of articles concerning R and D in industry are included.

Cognitive competence of graduates, oriented to work in the knowledge management system in the state corporation “Rosatom”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kireev, V.; Silenko, A.; Guseva, A.

2017-01-01

This article describes an approach to the determination of the level of formation of competences of university graduates, oriented to work in the state corporation “Rosatom” in a knowledge management system. With the use of cluster analysis graduate classes were identified, focused on knowledge transfer, analysis and the search for new knowledge, creative transformation of knowledge. In addition, the class innovators were identified, which were fully formed the necessary cognitive competences.

Oxidation of linoleic and palmitic acid in pre-hibernating and hibernating common noctule bats revealed by 13C breath testing.

PubMed

Rosner, Elisabeth; Voigt, Christian C

2018-02-19

Mammals fuel hibernation by oxidizing saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from triacylglycerols in adipocytes, yet the relative importance of these two categories as an oxidative fuel may change during hibernation. We studied the selective use of fatty acids as an oxidative fuel in noctule bats ( Nyctalus noctula ). Pre-hibernating noctule bats that were fed 13 C-enriched linoleic acid (LA) showed 12 times higher tracer oxidation rates compared with conspecifics fed 13 C-enriched palmitic acid (PA). After this experiment, we supplemented the diet of bats with the same fatty acids on five subsequent days to enrich their fat depots with the respective tracer. We then compared the excess 13 C enrichment (excess atom percentage, APE) in breath of bats for torpor and arousal events during early and late hibernation. We observed higher APE values in breath of bats fed 13 C-enriched LA than in bats fed 13 C-enriched PA for both states (torpor and arousal), and also for both periods. Thus, hibernating bats selectively oxidized endogenous LA instead of PA, probably because of faster transportation rates of polyunsaturated fatty acids compared with saturated fatty acids. We did not observe changes in APE values in the breath of torpid animals between early and late hibernation. Skin temperature of torpid animals increased by 0.7°C between early and late hibernation in bats fed PA, whereas it decreased by -0.8°C in bats fed LA, highlighting that endogenous LA may fulfil two functions when available in excess: serving as an oxidative fuel and supporting cell membrane functionality. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Inter-ray variation in metatarsal strength properties in humans and African apes: Implications for inferring bipedal biomechanics in the Olduvai Hominid 8 foot.

PubMed

Patel, Biren A; Jashashvili, Tea; Bui, Stephanie H; Carlson, Kristian J; Griffin, Nicole L; Wallace, Ian J; Orr, Caley M; Susman, Randall L

2018-05-12

When measured as a ratio of mean midshaft diameter to bone length, the OH 8 fossil hominin foot exhibits a metatarsal (Mt) robusticity pattern of 1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2, which differs from the widely perceived "common" modern human pattern (1 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2); African apes generally exhibit a third pattern (1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5). Largely because of the relative ranking of Mt2 and Mt5, OH 8 metatarsals structurally resemble the pattern exhibited by bipedal humans more than the pattern of quadrupedal and climbing African apes. Considering only these three phenotypes, however, discounts the potentially important functional implications of variation in modern human (and African ape) metatarsal robusticity patterns, suggesting that they are not useful for interpreting the specific biomechanics of a bipedal gait in fossils (i.e., whether it was modern human-like or not). Using computed tomography scans to quantify metatarsal midshaft cross-sectional geometry in a large sample of Homo (n=130), Gorilla (n=44) and Pan (n=80), we documented greater variation in metatarsal robusticity patterns than previously recognized in all three groups. While apes consistently show a 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 pattern in our larger sample, there does not appear to be a similarly precise single "common" human pattern. Rather, human metatarsals converge towards a 1 > 4/5 > 2/3 pattern, where metatarsals 4 and 5, and metatarsals 2 and 3, often "flip" positions relative to each other depending on the variable examined. After reassessing what a "common" human pattern could be based on a larger sample, the previously described OH 8 pattern of 1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 2 is only observed in some humans (<6%) and almost never in apes (<0.5%). Although this suggests an overall greater similarity to (some) humans than to any ape in loading of the foot, the relatively rare frequency of these humans in our sample underscores potential differences in loading experienced by the medial and lateral columns of the OH 8 foot compared to modern humans. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heart-type Fatty Acid Binding Protein in the Assessment of Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

PubMed

Qian, Hai-Yan; Huang, Ji; Yang, Yue-Jin; Yang, Yan-Min; Li, Zhi-Zhong; Zhang, Jing-Mei

2016-12-01

To explore the predictive value of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in the stratification and prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). According to risk stratification, 69 patients with APE admitted into the emergency department within 24 hours after onset were divided into the following 3 groups: high-risk group, moderate-risk group and low-risk group. H-FABP- and cardiac troponin I (cTNI)-positive rates of all groups were analyzed and compared, and the correlation between major adverse events (death, endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the cardiac markers (heart rate, arterial partial pressure of oxygen, right ventricular dimension, pulmonary arterial pressure, etc.) during the in-hospital period were statistically analyzed. Then the prognosis (death, embolic pulmonary hypertension, right heart failure and recurrence of APE) at 6 months after onset of APE was followed-up on and compared between groups. The admission time of high-risk group patients was earlier than non-high-risk group (7.1 ± 2.9 versus 13.5 ± 6.7 versus 15.2 ± 10.7 hours, P = 0.001), had larger right ventricular dimension (33.1 ± 10.4 versus 26.7 ± 7.3 versus 20.5 ± 8.9mm, P = 0.002) and higher pulmonary arterial pressure (45.8 ± 14.6 versus 29.4 ± 13.9 versus 23.1 ± 12.6mmHg, P = 0.001). The major adverse events during in-hospital period, including death, endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, were more prevalent in the high-risk group than those in the other 2 risk groups. Further analysis indicated that the positive rate of H-FABP was remarkably higher than cTNI (52/69, 75.4% versus 28/69, 40.6%, P = 0.003). The H-FABP (r = 0.881, P = 0.020) was significantly correlated to the major adverse events; however, this was not so regarding cTNI (r = 0.115, P = 0.059). At 6 months after onset of APE, the follow-up data indicated that cTNI and H-FABP were both significantly correlated with the major adverse events. The positive rate of H-FABP was higher than cTNI during the 24 hours after the onset of APE. The H-FABP was significantly correlated to the major adverse events during hospitalization and to the primary prognosis at 6 months after onset of APE. Copyright © 2016 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reversible polymorphism-aware phylogenetic models and their application to tree inference.

PubMed

Schrempf, Dominik; Minh, Bui Quang; De Maio, Nicola; von Haeseler, Arndt; Kosiol, Carolin

2016-10-21

We present a reversible Polymorphism-Aware Phylogenetic Model (revPoMo) for species tree estimation from genome-wide data. revPoMo enables the reconstruction of large scale species trees for many within-species samples. It expands the alphabet of DNA substitution models to include polymorphic states, thereby, naturally accounting for incomplete lineage sorting. We implemented revPoMo in the maximum likelihood software IQ-TREE. A simulation study and an application to great apes data show that the runtimes of our approach and standard substitution models are comparable but that revPoMo has much better accuracy in estimating trees, divergence times and mutation rates. The advantage of revPoMo is that an increase of sample size per species improves estimations but does not increase runtime. Therefore, revPoMo is a valuable tool with several applications, from speciation dating to species tree reconstruction. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Looking for Structure: Is the Two-Word Stage of Language Development in Apes and Human Children the Same or Different?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patkowski, Mark

2014-01-01

Previously published corpora of two-word utterances by three chimpanzees and three human children were compared to determine whether, as has been claimed, apes possess the same basic syntactic and semantic capacities as 2-year old children. Some similarities were observed in the type of semantic relations expressed by the two groups; however,…

Ebolavirus vaccines for humans and apes.

PubMed

Fausther-Bovendo, Hugues; Mulangu, Sabue; Sullivan, Nancy J

2012-06-01

Because of high case fatality proportions, person-to-person transmission, and potential use in bioterrorism, the development of a vaccine against ebolavirus remains a top priority. Although no licensed vaccine or treatment against ebolavirus is currently available, progress in preclinical testing of countermeasures has been made. Here, we will review ebolavirus vaccine candidates and considerations for their use in humans and wild apes. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Conservation Education and Environmental Communication in Great Ape Re-Introduction Projects: Two Cases from the Republic of Congo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cartwright, Barbara J.; Wall, John E.; Kaya, J. A. Placide

2012-01-01

Among species recovery tools available, re-introduction of animals to the wild is one of the more complex. Since the mid-1990s two successful great ape re-introductions have taken place in the Republic of Congo, leading some conservationists to revisit re-introduction as a strategy. This research explored the role of conservation education and…

Adaptive Processing Experiment (APE) Phase II

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-05-01

P*T*~--- - ~ q ~ IPY , U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Technical Information Service t AD/A-027 071 ADAPTIVE PROCESSING EXPERIMENT (APE...4 newsletter service covering the most recentik" research findings in 25 areas of industrial, The weekly w•Nsletter series will keep you...and professional informa- wish. Please request NTIS-PR-186/PCN for tion service provided by NTIS in the Weekly more information. Government Abstracts

Ichnotaxonomy of the Laetoli trackways: The earliest hominin footprints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meldrum, D. J.; Lockley, Martin G.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Musiba, Charles

2011-04-01

At 3.6 Ma, the Laetoli Pliocene hominin trackways are the earliest direct evidence of hominin bipedalism. Three decades since their discovery, not only is the question of their attribution still discussed, but marked differences in interpretation concerning the footprints' qualitative features and the inferred nature of the early hominin foot morphology remain. Here, we establish a novel ichnotaxon, Praehominipes laetoliensis, for these tracks and clarify the distinctions of these footprints from those of later hominins, especially modern humans. We also contrast hominin, human, and ape footprints to establish morphological features of these footprints correlated with a midtarsal break versus a stiff longitudinal arch. Original photos, including stereo photographs, and casts of footprints from the 1978 Laetoli excavation, confirm midtarsal flexibility, and repeatedly indicate an associated midfoot pressure ridge. In contrast, the modern human footprint reflects the derived arched-foot architecture, combined with a stiff-legged striding gait. Fossilized footprints of unshod modern human pedestrians in Hawaii and Nicaragua unambiguously illustrate these contrasts. Some points of comparisons with ape footprints are complicated by a variable hallucal position and the distinct manner of ape facultative bipedalism. In contrast to the comparatively rigid platform of the modern human foot, midtarsal flexibility is present in the chimpanzee foot. In ape locomotion, flexion at the transverse tarsal joint, referred to as the "midtarsal break," uncouples the respective functions of the prehensile forefoot and the propulsive hindfoot during grasp-climbing. At some point after the transition to habitual bipedalism, these grasp-climb adaptations, presumed to be present in the last common ancestor of apes and humans, were initially compromised by the loss of divergence of the hallux. An analogous trajectory is evident along an array of increasingly terrestrial extant ape species. However, a flexible midfoot was retained, presumably to spare lateral toes from bending stresses by concentrating push-off from the forefoot, beneath the metatarsals. Only later did the evolution of the longitudinal arch permit increased mechanical advantage of the plantarflexors for speed and improved economy of endurance distance walking and running.

Promoting Overall Health and Wellness among Clients: The Relevance and Role of Professional Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fetter, Holly; Koch, Dennis W.

2009-01-01

A movement in the profession of counseling incorporates a wellness philosophy and wellness-oriented approach within the counseling change process. The construct of "wellness" pertains to an orientation of lifestyle in which body, mind, and spirit are fully integrated in efforts to achieve an optimal state of health and well-being. Wellness,…

The thumb of Miocene apes: new insights from Castell de Barberà (Catalonia, Spain).

PubMed

Almécija, Sergio; Alba, David M; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2012-07-01

Primate hands display a major selective compromise between locomotion and manipulation. The thumb may or may not participate in locomotion, but it plays a central role in most manipulative activities. Understanding whether or not the last common ancestor of humans and Pan displayed extant-ape-like hand proportions (i.e., relatively long fingers and a short thumb) can be clarified by the analysis of Miocene ape hand remains. Here we describe new pollical remains-a complete proximal phalanx and a partial distal phalanx-from the middle/late Miocene site of Castell de Barberà (ca., 11.2-10.5 Ma, Vallès-Penedès Basin), and provide morphometric and qualitative comparisons with other available Miocene specimens as well as extant catarrhines (including humans). Our results show that all available Miocene taxa (Proconsul, Nacholapithecus, Afropithecus, Sivapithecus, Hispanopithecus, Oreopithecus, and the hominoid from Castell de Barberà) share a similar phalangeal thumb morphology: the phalanges are relatively long, and the proximal phalanges have a high degree of curvature, marked insertions for the flexor muscles, a palmarly bent trochlea and a low basal height. All these features suggest that these Miocene apes used their thumb with an emphasis on flexion, most of them to powerfully assist the fingers during above-branch, grasping arboreal locomotion. Moreover, in terms of relative proximal phalangeal length, the thumb of Miocene taxa is intermediate between the long-thumbed humans and the short-thumbed extant apes. Together with previous evidence, this suggests that a moderate-length hand with relatively long thumb-involved in locomotion-is the original hand morphotype for the Hominidae. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Significance of the evolutionary α1,3-galactosyltransferase (GGTA1) gene inactivation in preventing extinction of apes and old world monkeys.

PubMed

Galili, Uri

2015-01-01

The α1,3-galactosyltransferase (α1,3GT or GGTA1) gene displays unique evolutionary characteristics. This gene appeared early in mammalian evolution and is absent in other vertebrates. The α1,3GT gene is active in marsupials, nonprimate placental mammals, lemurs (prosimians) and New World monkeys, encoding the α1,3GT enzyme that synthesizes a carbohydrate antigen called "α-gal epitope." The α-gal epitope is present in large numbers on cell membrane glycolipids and glycoproteins. The α1,3GT gene was inactivated in ancestral Old World monkeys and apes by frameshift single-base deletions forming premature stop codons. Because of this gene inactivation, humans, apes, and Old World monkeys lack α-gal epitopes and naturally produce an antibody called the "anti-Gal antibody" which binds specifically to α-gal epitopes and which is the most abundant antibody in humans. The evolutionary event that resulted in the inactivation of the α1,3GT gene in ancestral Old World primates could have been mediated by a pathogen endemic to Eurasia-Africa landmass that exerted pressure for selection of primate populations lacking the α-gal epitope. Once the α-gal epitope was eliminated, primates could produce the anti-Gal antibody, possibly as means of defense against pathogens expressing this epitope. This assumption is supported by the fossil record demonstrating an almost complete extinction of apes in the late Miocene and failure of Old World monkeys to radiate into multiple species before that period. A present outcome of this evolutionary event is the anti-Gal-mediated rejection of mammalian xenografts expressing α-gal epitopes in humans, apes, and Old World monkeys.

Superoxide dismutase 1 is positively selected to minimize protein aggregation in great apes.

PubMed

Dasmeh, Pouria; Kepp, Kasper P

2017-08-01

Positive (adaptive) selection has recently been implied in human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), a highly abundant antioxidant protein with energy signaling and antiaging functions, one of very few examples of direct selection on a human protein product (exon); the molecular drivers of this selection are unknown. We mapped 30 extant SOD1 sequences to the recently established mammalian species tree and inferred ancestors, key substitutions, and signatures of selection during the protein's evolution. We detected elevated substitution rates leading to great apes (Hominidae) at ~1 per 2 million years, significantly higher than in other primates and rodents, although these paradoxically generally evolve much faster. The high evolutionary rate was partly due to relaxation of some selection pressures and partly to distinct positive selection of SOD1 in great apes. We then show that higher stability and net charge and changes at the dimer interface were selectively introduced upon separation from old world monkeys and lesser apes (gibbons). Consequently, human, chimpanzee and gorilla SOD1s have a net charge of -6 at physiological pH, whereas the closely related gibbons and macaques have -3. These features consistently point towards selection against the malicious aggregation effects of elevated SOD1 levels in long-living great apes. The findings mirror the impact of human SOD1 mutations that reduce net charge and/or stability and cause ALS, a motor neuron disease characterized by oxidative stress and SOD1 aggregates and triggered by aging. Our study thus marks an example of direct selection for a particular chemical phenotype (high net charge and stability) in a single human protein with possible implications for the evolution of aging.

Interactions between zoo-housed great apes and local wildlife.

PubMed

Ross, S R; Holmes, A N; Lonsdorf, E V

2009-06-01

Although there are published reports of wild chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans hunting and consuming vertebrate prey, data pertaining to captive apes remain sparse. In this survey-based study, we evaluate the prevalence and nature of interactions between captive great apes and various indigenous wildlife species that range into their enclosures in North America. Our hypotheses were threefold: (a) facilities housing chimpanzees will report the most frequent and most aggressive interactions with local wildlife; (b) facilities housing orangutans and bonobos will report intermediate frequencies of these interactions with low levels of aggression and killing; and (c) facilities housing gorillas will report the lowest frequency of interactions and no reports of killing local wildlife. Chimpanzees and bonobos demonstrated the most aggressive behavior toward wildlife, which matched our predictions for chimpanzees, but not bonobos. This fits well with expectations for chimpanzees based on their natural history of hunting and consuming prey in wild settings, and also supports new field data on bonobos. Captive gorillas and orangutans were reported to be much less likely to chase, catch and kill wildlife than chimpanzees and bonobos. Gorillas were the least likely to engage in aggressive interactions with local wildlife, matching our predictions based on natural history. However unlike wild gorillas, captive gorillas were reported to kill (and in one case, eat) local wildlife. These results suggest that some behavioral patterns seen in captive groups of apes may be useful for modeling corresponding activities in the wild that may not be as easily observed and quantified. Furthermore, the data highlight the potential for disease transmission in some captive settings, and we outline the associated implications for ape health and safety.

The measurement of muscle protein synthesis in broilers with a flooding dose technique: use of 15N-labelled phenylalanine, GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS.

PubMed

Dänicke, S; Böttcher, W; Simon, O; Jeroch, H

2001-01-01

An experiment was carried out to measure fractional muscle protein synthesis rates (k(s)) in broilers with injection of a flooding dose of phenylalanine (1 ml/100 g body weight of 150 mM phenylalanine; 38 atom percent excess (APE) [15N]phenylalanine). K(s) was calculated from the [15N] enrichment in phenylalanine of tissue-free and protein-bound phenylalanine using both gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) for measurements after a 10 min isotope incorporation period. The tertiary-butyldimethylsilyl (t-BDMS) derivatives of phenylalanine were used for gas chromatographic separation in both systems. GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS were calibrated for a range of 7 to 37 [15N]APE and 0 to 0.62 [15N]APE, respectively, and for sample sizes of 0.45 to 4.5 nmol phenylalanine and 7 to 40 nmol phenylalanine, respectively. Reproducibility of standards as a measure of precision varied from 0.06 to 0.29 [15N]APE and from 0.0004 to 0.0018 [15N]APE in GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS, respectively. K(s) was measured in the m. pectoralis major of broilers fed rye based diets (56%) which were provided either unsupplemented (-) or supplemented (+) with an enzyme preparation containing xylanase. K(s) in breast muscles was significantly increased from 21.8%/d to 23.9%/d due to enzyme supplementation. It can be concluded from the study that the measurement of protein synthesis in broilers with the flooding dose technique can be carried out by using [15N]phenylalanine, GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS.

BDNF and exercise enhance neuronal DNA repair by stimulating CREB-mediated production of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1.

PubMed

Yang, Jenq-Lin; Lin, Yu-Ting; Chuang, Pei-Chin; Bohr, Vilhelm A; Mattson, Mark P

2014-03-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promotes the survival and growth of neurons during brain development and mediates activity-dependent synaptic plasticity and associated learning and memory in the adult. BDNF levels are reduced in brain regions affected in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases, and elevation of BDNF levels can ameliorate neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in experimental models of these diseases. Because neurons accumulate oxidative lesions in their DNA during normal activity and in neurodegenerative disorders, we determined whether and how BDNF affects the ability of neurons to cope with oxidative DNA damage. We found that BDNF protects cerebral cortical neurons against oxidative DNA damage-induced death by a mechanism involving enhanced DNA repair. BDNF stimulates DNA repair by activating cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), which, in turn, induces the expression of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), a key enzyme in the base excision DNA repair pathway. Suppression of either APE1 or TrkB by RNA interference abolishes the ability of BDNF to protect neurons against oxidized DNA damage-induced death. The ability of BDNF to activate CREB and upregulate APE1 expression is abolished by shRNA of TrkB as well as inhibitors of TrkB, PI3 kinase, and Akt kinase. Voluntary running wheel exercise significantly increases levels of BDNF, activates CREB, and upregulates APE1 in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of mice, suggesting a novel mechanism whereby exercise may protect neurons from oxidative DNA damage. Our findings reveal a previously unknown ability of BDNF to enhance DNA repair by inducing the expression of the DNA repair enzyme APE1.

South to south learning in great ape conservation.

PubMed

Schoneveld-de Lange, Nicolien; Meijaard, Erik; Löhr, Ansje

2016-06-01

Despite evidence that killing of Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in South-East Asia is a major threat to the species, few researchers and non-governmental conservationists have addressed it in management and research, and there is virtually no implementation of anti-killing strategies. In large parts of the Congo Basin, Central Africa, instead, illegal killing of great apes is acknowledged to be their largest threat, and many conservation strategies have been used to reduce killing pressure. However, since these strategies have not been subject to systematic and comprehensive review, it remains unclear which of them have been successful and why. Knowledge of the success, failure, and practices of common conservation strategies to manage great ape killing is critical to ensure adaptive conservation management in the Congo Basin. Understanding the Congo context also facilitates simultaneously highlighting great ape killing in Borneo and suggesting solutions to manage orangutan killing. Here, we compile and analyze the available literature on great ape conservation strategies for reducing killing rates in the Congo Basin. Through a systematic literature review of 198 publications, we find that the most widely employed conservation strategies in the Congo Basin are legislation and law enforcement, protected area management, community-based conservation, alternatives to bushmeat consumption and trade, ecotourism, education, and capacity building. Despite lack of rigorous post-intervention evaluation of conservation impact, we derive several recommendations for addressing the orangutan killing issue in Borneo. A critical lesson, widely applicable to developing countries for conservationists and not limited to Congo Basin realities, is the need for rigorous post-intervention evaluations compared to pre-intervention baselines and over appropriate time frames. Am. J. Primatol. 78:669-678, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Polymorphic trial in oxidative damage of arsenic exposed Vietnamese.

PubMed

Fujihara, Junko; Soejima, Mikiko; Yasuda, Toshihiro; Koda, Yoshiro; Kunito, Takashi; Iwata, Hisato; Tanabe, Shinsuke; Takeshita, Haruo

2011-10-15

Arsenic causes DNA damage and changes the cellular capacity for DNA repair. Genes in the base excision repair (BER) pathway influence the generation and repair of oxidative lesions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (hOGG1) Ser326Cys; apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE1) Asp148Glu; X-ray and repair and cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) Arg280His and Arg399Gln in the BER genes were analyzed, and the relationship between these 4 SNPs and the urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) concentrations of 100 Vietnamese population exposed to arsenic was investigated. Individuals with hOGG1 326Cys/Cys showed significantly higher urinary 8-OHdG concentrations than did those with 326 Ser/Cys and Ser/Ser. As for APE1 Asp148Glu, heterozygous subjects showed significantly higher urinary 8-OHdG concentrations than did those homozygous for Asp/Asp. Moreover, global ethnic comparison of the allelic frequencies of the 4SNPs was performed in 10 population and previous reported data. The mutant allele frequencies of hOGG1 Ser326Cys in the Asian populations were higher than those in the African and Caucasian populations. As for APE1 Asp148Glu, Caucasians showed higher mutant frequencies than those shown by African and Asian populations. Among Asian populations, the Bangladeshi population showed relatively higher mutant allele frequencies of the APE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism. This study is the first to demonstrate the existence of genetic heterogeneity in a worldwide distribution of SNPs (hOGG1 Ser326Cys, APE1 Asp148Glu, XRCC1 Arg280His, and XRCC1 Arg399Gln) in the BER genes. Published by Elsevier Inc.

SHYCD induces APE1/Ref-1 subcellular localization to regulate the p53-apoptosis signaling pathway in the prevention and treatment of acute on chronic liver failure

PubMed Central

Diao, Jianxin; Li, Haiye; Huang, Wei; Ma, Wenxiao; Dai, Huan; Liu, Yawei; Wang, Ming; Hua, He Yu; Ou, Jinying; Sun, Xiaomin; Sun, Xuegang; Yang, Yungao

2017-01-01

Background & Aims: San huang yin chi decoction(SHYCD) is derived from the yin chen hao decoction, a well-known and canonical Chinese medicine formula from the “Treatise on Febrile Diseases”. Over the past decade, SHYCD has been used to treat and prevent the liver cirrhosis and liver failure. In the present study, we investigated the effects of SHYCD for acute on chronic liver failure(ACLF) and explored its potential mechanism. an ACLF rat model, which induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) combined with D-galactosamine (D-GalN) and lipopolysaccharide(LPS), was used and confirmed by B-ultrasound analysis. Rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, SHYCD-H group, SHYCD-M group, SHYCD-L group, AGNHW group. Compared with the ACLF model group, High, medium, and low doses of SHYCD reduced ALT, AST, TBIL, NH3, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα expression levels in the serum, Shorten PT and INR time,and increased Fbg content in the whole blood, increased survival rate of the rats, improved liver pathological changes. APE1 / Ref-1 was mainly expressed in the nucleus, but the nucleus and cytoplasm were co-expressed after hepatocyte injury. SHYCD significantly downregulated APE1/Ref-1 expression in the cytoplasm. Increased APE1/Ref-1, Bcl-2, reduced p53, caspase-3, Bax, and Cyt-c in the total protein. Base on the results, we conclused that High, medium, and low doses of SHYCD could be applied in prevention and treatment of ACLF, and dose-dependent. The possible mechanism is to promote the APE1 / Ref-1 from the cytoplasm to the nuclear transfer, regulation of p53 apoptosis signal pathway prevention and treatment of ACLF. PMID:29156683

Lineage-Specific Changes in Biomarkers in Great Apes and Humans.

PubMed

Ronke, Claudius; Dannemann, Michael; Halbwax, Michel; Fischer, Anne; Helmschrodt, Christin; Brügel, Mathias; André, Claudine; Atencia, Rebeca; Mugisha, Lawrence; Scholz, Markus; Ceglarek, Uta; Thiery, Joachim; Pääbo, Svante; Prüfer, Kay; Kelso, Janet

2015-01-01

Although human biomedical and physiological information is readily available, such information for great apes is limited. We analyzed clinical chemical biomarkers in serum samples from 277 wild- and captive-born great apes and from 312 healthy human volunteers as well as from 20 rhesus macaques. For each individual, we determined a maximum of 33 markers of heart, liver, kidney, thyroid and pancreas function, hemoglobin and lipid metabolism and one marker of inflammation. We identified biomarkers that show differences between humans and the great apes in their average level or activity. Using the rhesus macaques as an outgroup, we identified human-specific differences in the levels of bilirubin, cholinesterase and lactate dehydrogenase, and bonobo-specific differences in the level of apolipoprotein A-I. For the remaining twenty-nine biomarkers there was no evidence for lineage-specific differences. In fact, we find that many biomarkers show differences between individuals of the same species in different environments. Of the four lineage-specific biomarkers, only bilirubin showed no differences between wild- and captive-born great apes. We show that the major factor explaining the human-specific difference in bilirubin levels may be genetic. There are human-specific changes in the sequence of the promoter and the protein-coding sequence of uridine diphosphoglucuronosyltransferase 1 (UGT1A1), the enzyme that transforms bilirubin and toxic plant compounds into water-soluble, excretable metabolites. Experimental evidence that UGT1A1 is down-regulated in the human liver suggests that changes in the promoter may be responsible for the human-specific increase in bilirubin. We speculate that since cooking reduces toxic plant compounds, consumption of cooked foods, which is specific to humans, may have resulted in relaxed constraint on UGT1A1 which has in turn led to higher serum levels of bilirubin in humans.

Lineage-Specific Changes in Biomarkers in Great Apes and Humans

PubMed Central

Ronke, Claudius; Dannemann, Michael; Halbwax, Michel; Fischer, Anne; Helmschrodt, Christin; Brügel, Mathias; André, Claudine; Atencia, Rebeca; Mugisha, Lawrence; Scholz, Markus; Ceglarek, Uta; Thiery, Joachim; Pääbo, Svante; Prüfer, Kay; Kelso, Janet

2015-01-01

Although human biomedical and physiological information is readily available, such information for great apes is limited. We analyzed clinical chemical biomarkers in serum samples from 277 wild- and captive-born great apes and from 312 healthy human volunteers as well as from 20 rhesus macaques. For each individual, we determined a maximum of 33 markers of heart, liver, kidney, thyroid and pancreas function, hemoglobin and lipid metabolism and one marker of inflammation. We identified biomarkers that show differences between humans and the great apes in their average level or activity. Using the rhesus macaques as an outgroup, we identified human-specific differences in the levels of bilirubin, cholinesterase and lactate dehydrogenase, and bonobo-specific differences in the level of apolipoprotein A-I. For the remaining twenty-nine biomarkers there was no evidence for lineage-specific differences. In fact, we find that many biomarkers show differences between individuals of the same species in different environments. Of the four lineage-specific biomarkers, only bilirubin showed no differences between wild- and captive-born great apes. We show that the major factor explaining the human-specific difference in bilirubin levels may be genetic. There are human-specific changes in the sequence of the promoter and the protein-coding sequence of uridine diphosphoglucuronosyltransferase 1 (UGT1A1), the enzyme that transforms bilirubin and toxic plant compounds into water-soluble, excretable metabolites. Experimental evidence that UGT1A1 is down-regulated in the human liver suggests that changes in the promoter may be responsible for the human-specific increase in bilirubin. We speculate that since cooking reduces toxic plant compounds, consumption of cooked foods, which is specific to humans, may have resulted in relaxed constraint on UGT1A1 which has in turn led to higher serum levels of bilirubin in humans. PMID:26247603

Diagnostic validity of hematologic parameters in evaluation of massive pulmonary embolism.

PubMed

Ates, Hale; Ates, Ihsan; Kundi, Harun; Yilmaz, Fatma Meric

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to determine the hematologic parameter with the highest diagnostic differentiation in the identification of massive acute pulmonary embolism (APE). A retrospective study was performed on patients diagnosing with APE between June 2014 and June 2016. All radiological and laboratory parameters of patients were scanned through the electronic information management system of the hospital. PLR was obtained from the ratio of platelet count to lymphocyte count, NLR was obtained from the ratio of neutrophil count to lymphocyte count, WMR was obtained from white blood cell in mean platelet volume ratio, MPR was obtained from the ratio of mean platelet volume to platelet count, and RPR was obtained from the ratio of red distribution width to platelet count. Six hundred and thirty-nine patients consisting of 292 males (45.7%) and 347 females (54.3%) were included in the research. Independent predictors of massive risk as compared to sub-massive group were; pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP) (OR=1.40; P=.001), PLR (OR=1.59; P<.001), NLR (OR=2.22; P<.001), WMR (OR=1.22; P<.001), MPR (OR=0.33; P<.001), and RPR (OR=0.68; P<.001). Upon evaluation of the diagnostic differentiation of these risk factors for massive APE by employing receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, it was determined that PLR (AUC±SE=0.877±0.015; P<.001), and NLR (AUC±SE=0.893±0.013; P<.001) have similar diagnostic differentiation in diagnosing massive APE and these two parameters are superior over PASP, MPR, WMR, and RPR. We determined that the levels of NLR and PLR are superior to other parameters in the determination of clinical severity in APE cases. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Telemetered electromyography of the supinators and pronators of the forearm in gibbons and chimpanzees: implications for the fundamental positional adaptation of hominoids.

PubMed

Stern, J T; Larson, S G

2001-07-01

Extant apes are similar to one another, and different from monkeys, in features granting them greater range of forearm rotation and greater size of the muscles that produce this motion. Although these traits may have been independently acquired by the various apes, the possibility arises that such features reflect adaptation to the stem behavior of the hominoid lineage. Anticipating that knowledge of forearm rotatory muscle recruitment during brachiation, vertical climbing, arm-hanging during feeding, and voluntary reaching might point to this stem behavior, we undertook telemetered electromyographic experiments on the supinator, pronator quadratus, ulnar head of pronator teres, and a variety of other upper limb muscles in two gibbons and four chimpanzees. The primary rotator muscles of the hominoid forearm were recruited at high levels in a variety of behaviors. As had been suspected by previous researchers, the supinator is usually active during the support phase of armswinging, but we observed numerous instances of this behavior during which the muscle was inactive. No other muscle took over its role. Kinetic analyses are required to determine how apes can execute body rotation of armswinging without active muscular effort. The one behavior that is common to most extant apes, is rare in monkeys, and which places a consistently great demand on the primary forearm rotatory muscles, is hang-feeding. The muscles of the supporting limb are essential to properly position the body; those of the free limb are essential for grasping food. Since the greater range of forearm rotation characterizing apes is also best explained by adaptation to this behavior, we join previous authors who assert that it lies at the very origin of the Hominoidea. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) understand connectivity in the skewered grape tool task.

PubMed

Mulcahy, Nicholas J; Schubiger, Michèle N; Suddendorf, T

2013-02-01

Great apes appear to have limited knowledge of tool functionality when they are presented with tasks that involve a physical connection between a tool and a reward. For instance, they fail to understand that pulling a rope with a reward tied to its end is more beneficial than pulling a rope that only touches a reward. Apes show more success when both ropes have rewards tied to their ends but one rope is nonfunctional because it is clearly separated into aligned sections. It is unclear, however, whether this success is based on perceptual features unrelated to connectivity, such as perceiving the tool's separate sections as independent tools rather than one discontinuous tool. Surprisingly, there appears to be no study that has tested any type of connectivity problem using natural tools made from branches with which wild and captive apes often have extensive experience. It is possible that such ecologically valid tools may better help subjects understand connectivity that involves physical attachment. In this study, we tested orangutans with natural tools and a range of connectivity problems that involved the physical attachment of a reward on continuous and broken tools. We found that the orangutans understood tool connectivity involving physical attachment that apes from other studies failed when tested with similar tasks using artificial as opposed to natural tools. We found no evidence that the orangutans' success in broken tool conditions was based on perceptual features unrelated to connectivity. Our results suggest that artificial tools may limit apes' knowledge of connectivity involving physical attachment, whereas ecologically valid tools may have the opposite effect. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Dental development and life history in living African and Asian apes

PubMed Central

Kelley, Jay; Schwartz, Gary T.

2009-01-01

Life-history inference is an important aim of paleoprimatology, but life histories cannot be discerned directly from the fossil record. Among extant primates, the timing of many life-history attributes is correlated with the age at emergence of the first permanent molar (M1), which can therefore serve as a means to directly compare the life histories of fossil and extant species. To date, M1 emergence ages exist for only a small fraction of extant primate species and consist primarily of data from captive individuals, which may show accelerated dental eruption compared with free-living individuals. Data on M1 emergence ages in wild great apes exist for only a single chimpanzee individual, with data for gorillas and orangutans being anecdotal. This paucity of information limits our ability to make life-history inferences using the M1 emergence ages of extinct ape and hominin species. Here we report reliable ages at M1 emergence for the orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus (4.6 y), and the gorilla, Gorilla gorilla (3.8 y), obtained from the dental histology of wild-shot individuals in museum collections. These ages and the one reported age at M1 emergence in a free-living chimpanzee of approximately 4.0 y are highly concordant with the comparative life histories of these great apes. They are also consistent with the average age at M1 emergence in relation to the timing of life-history events in modern humans, thus confirming the utility of M1 emergence ages for life-history inference and providing a basis for making reliable life-history inferences for extinct apes and hominins. PMID:20080537

Hindlimb muscle architecture in non-human great apes and a comparison of methods for analysing inter-species variation

PubMed Central

Myatt, Julia P; Crompton, Robin H; Thorpe, Susannah K S

2011-01-01

By relating an animal's morphology to its functional role and the behaviours performed, we can further develop our understanding of the selective factors and constraints acting on the adaptations of great apes. Comparison of muscle architecture between different ape species, however, is difficult because only small sample sizes are ever available. Further, such samples are often comprised of different age–sex classes, so studies have to rely on scaling techniques to remove body mass differences. However, the reliability of such scaling techniques has been questioned. As datasets increase in size, more reliable statistical analysis may eventually become possible. Here we employ geometric and allometric scaling techniques, and ancovas (a form of general linear model, GLM) to highlight and explore the different methods available for comparing functional morphology in the non-human great apes. Our results underline the importance of regressing data against a suitable body size variable to ascertain the relationship (geometric or allometric) and of choosing appropriate exponents by which to scale data. ancova models, while likely to be more robust than scaling for species comparisons when sample sizes are high, suffer from reduced power when sample sizes are low. Therefore, until sample sizes are radically increased it is preferable to include scaling analyses along with ancovas in data exploration. Overall, the results obtained from the different methods show little significant variation, whether in muscle belly mass, fascicle length or physiological cross-sectional area between the different species. This may reflect relatively close evolutionary relationships of the non-human great apes; a universal influence on morphology of generalised orthograde locomotor behaviours or, quite likely, both. PMID:21507000

Humans and Great Apes Cohabiting the Forest Ecosystem in Central African Republic Harbour the Same Hookworms

PubMed Central

Hasegawa, Hideo; Modrý, David; Kitagawa, Masahiro; Shutt, Kathryn A.; Todd, Angelique; Kalousová, Barbora; Profousová, Ilona; Petrželková, Klára J.

2014-01-01

Background Hookworms are important pathogens of humans. To date, Necator americanus is the sole, known species of the genus Necator infecting humans. In contrast, several Necator species have been described in African great apes and other primates. It has not yet been determined whether primate-originating Necator species are also parasitic in humans. Methodology/Principal Findings The infective larvae of Necator spp. were developed using modified Harada-Mori filter-paper cultures from faeces of humans and great apes inhabiting Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. The first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA and partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene of mtDNA obtained from the hookworm larvae were sequenced and compared. Three sequence types (I–III) were recognized in the ITS region, and 34 cox1 haplotypes represented three phylogenetic groups (A–C). The combinations determined were I-A, II-B, II-C, III-B and III-C. Combination I-A, corresponding to N. americanus, was demonstrated in humans and western lowland gorillas; II-B and II-C were observed in humans, western lowland gorillas and chimpanzees; III-B and III-C were found only in humans. Pairwise nucleotide difference in the cox1 haplotypes between the groups was more than 8%, while the difference within each group was less than 2.1%. Conclusions/Significance The distinctness of ITS sequence variants and high number of pairwise nucleotide differences among cox1 variants indicate the possible presence of several species of Necator in both humans and great apes. We conclude that Necator hookworms are shared by humans and great apes co-habiting the same tropical forest ecosystems. PMID:24651493

On the asymptotically Poincaré-Einstein 4-manifolds with harmonic curvature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xue

2018-06-01

In this paper, we discuss the mass aspect tensor and the rigidity of an asymptotically Poincaré-Einstein (APE) 4-manifold with harmonic curvature. We prove that the trace-free part of the mass aspect tensor of an APE 4-manifold with harmonic curvature and normalized Einstein conformal infinity is zero. As to the rigidity, we first show that a complete noncompact Riemannian 4-manifold with harmonic curvature and positive Yamabe constant as well as a L2-pinching condition is Einstein. As an application, we then obtain that an APE 4-manifold with harmonic curvature and positive Yamabe constant is isometric to the hyperbolic space provided that the L2-norm of the traceless Ricci tensor or the Weyl tensor is small enough and the conformal infinity is a standard round 3-sphere.

Anthropometrics related to the performance of a sample of male swimmers.

PubMed

Perciavalle, Valentina; Di Corrado, Donatella; Scuto, Claudia; Perciavalle, Vincenzo; Coco, Marinella

2014-06-01

The main purpose of the present investigation of 21 elite male swimmers was to assess whether the Ape Index (the ratio between the individual's arm span and height) and/or the second-to-fourth digit length ratio (2D:4D), i.e., the ratio between the length of the second and the fourth fingers of the right hand, are associated with the performance of high-level swimmers, when mood and/or executive function are covaried. The results showed no statistically significant correlation between the Ape Index and 2D:4D ratio, performance, executive function, or mood. In contrast, statistically significant correlations were found between 2D:4D ratio and performance, executive function, and mood. Regressions indicated that 2D:4D ratio and not Ape Index is related to the performances of a sample of male swimmers.

Memory processing in great apes: the effect of time and sleep

PubMed Central

Martin-Ordas, Gema; Call, Josep

2011-01-01

Following encoding, memory remains temporarily vulnerable to disruption. Consolidation refers to offline time-dependent processes that continue after encoding and stabilize, transform or enhance the memory trace. Memory consolidation resulting from sleep has been reported for declarative and non-declarative memories in humans. We first investigated the temporal course of memory retrieval in chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans. We found that the amount of retrieved information was time dependent: apes' performance degraded after 1 and 2 h, stabilized after 4 h, started to increase after 8 and 12 h and fully recovered after 24 h. Second, we show that although memories during wakefulness were highly vulnerable to interference from events similar to those witnessed during the original encoding event, an intervening period of sleep not only stabilized apes' memories into more permanent ones but also protected them against interference. PMID:21632621

Memory processing in great apes: the effect of time and sleep.

PubMed

Martin-Ordas, Gema; Call, Josep

2011-12-23

Following encoding, memory remains temporarily vulnerable to disruption. Consolidation refers to offline time-dependent processes that continue after encoding and stabilize, transform or enhance the memory trace. Memory consolidation resulting from sleep has been reported for declarative and non-declarative memories in humans. We first investigated the temporal course of memory retrieval in chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans. We found that the amount of retrieved information was time dependent: apes' performance degraded after 1 and 2 h, stabilized after 4 h, started to increase after 8 and 12 h and fully recovered after 24 h. Second, we show that although memories during wakefulness were highly vulnerable to interference from events similar to those witnessed during the original encoding event, an intervening period of sleep not only stabilized apes' memories into more permanent ones but also protected them against interference.

Ape parasite origins of human malaria virulence genes

PubMed Central

Larremore, Daniel B.; Sundararaman, Sesh A.; Liu, Weimin; Proto, William R.; Clauset, Aaron; Loy, Dorothy E.; Speede, Sheri; Plenderleith, Lindsey J.; Sharp, Paul M.; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Rayner, Julian C.; Buckee, Caroline O.

2015-01-01

Antigens encoded by the var gene family are major virulence factors of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, exhibiting enormous intra- and interstrain diversity. Here we use network analysis to show that var architecture and mosaicism are conserved at multiple levels across the Laverania subgenus, based on var-like sequences from eight single-species and three multi-species Plasmodium infections of wild-living or sanctuary African apes. Using select whole-genome amplification, we also find evidence of multi-domain var structure and synteny in Plasmodium gaboni, one of the ape Laverania species most distantly related to P. falciparum, as well as a new class of Duffy-binding-like domains. These findings indicate that the modular genetic architecture and sequence diversity underlying var-mediated host-parasite interactions evolved before the radiation of the Laverania subgenus, long before the emergence of P. falciparum. PMID:26456841

Comment on the paleobiology and classification of Ardipithecus ramidus.

PubMed

Sarmiento, Esteban E

2010-05-28

White and colleagues (Research Articles, 2 October 2009, pp. 64-106 and www.sciencemag.org/ardipithecus) reported Ardipithecus ramidus as an exclusive member of the human lineage post-African ape divergence. However, their analysis of shared-derived characters provides insufficient evidence of an ancestor-descendant relationship and exclusivity to the hominid lineage. Molecular and anatomical studies rather suggest that Ar. ramidus predates the human/African ape divergence.

Overcoming Drug Resistant Prostate Cancer with APE1/Ref-1 Blockade

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

cells avoid being killed by chemotherapy: Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease/ redox -factor 1, or simply, Ref-1, for short. In this report, we...survivin signaling in human prostate cancer specimens. Genetic knockdown of APE1/Ref-1 disrupts prostate cancer cell growth and survival in cell culture...In addition, inhibition of the redox function selectively of Ref-1 results in cell growth inhibition, with this therapy preferentially inhibiting

Overcoming Drug Resistant Prostate Cancer with APE1/Ref 1 Blockade

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

cells avoid being killed by chemotherapy: Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease/ redox -factor 1, or simply, Ref-1, for short. In this report, we...survivin signaling in human prostate cancer specimens. Genetic knockdown of APE1/Ref-1 disrupts prostate cancer cell growth and survival in cell culture...In addition, inhibition of the redox function selectively of Ref-1 results in cell growth inhibition, with this therapy preferentially inhibiting

The effect of foot posture on capacity to apply free moments to the ground: implications for fighting performance in great apes

PubMed Central

Cunningham, Christopher

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT In contrast to most other primates, great apes have feet in which the heel supports body weight during standing, walking and running. One possible advantage of this plantigrade foot posture is that it may enhance fighting performance by increasing the ability to apply free moments (i.e. force couples) to the ground. We tested this possibility by measuring performance of human subjects when performing from plantigrade and digitigrade (standing on the ball of the foot and toes) postures. We found that plantigrade posture substantially increased the capacity to apply free moments to the ground and to perform a variety of behaviors that are likely to be important to fighting performance in great apes. As predicted, performance in maximal effort lateral striking and pushing was strongly correlated with free moment magnitude. All else being equal, these results suggest species that can adopt plantigrade posture will be able to apply larger free moments to the ground than species restricted to digitigrade or unguligrade foot posture. Additionally, these results are consistent with the suggestion that selection for physical competition may have been one of the factors that led to the evolution of the derived plantigrade foot posture of great apes. PMID:28202470

Social Models Enhance Apes' Memory for Novel Events.

PubMed

Howard, Lauren H; Wagner, Katherine E; Woodward, Amanda L; Ross, Stephen R; Hopper, Lydia M

2017-01-20

Nonhuman primates are more likely to learn from the actions of a social model than a non-social "ghost display", however the mechanism underlying this effect is still unknown. One possibility is that live models are more engaging, drawing increased attention to social stimuli. However, recent research with humans has suggested that live models fundamentally alter memory, not low-level attention. In the current study, we developed a novel eye-tracking paradigm to disentangle the influence of social context on attention and memory in apes. Tested in two conditions, zoo-housed apes (2 gorillas, 5 chimpanzees) were familiarized to videos of a human hand (social condition) and mechanical claw (non-social condition) constructing a three-block tower. During the memory test, subjects viewed side-by-side pictures of the previously-constructed block tower and a novel block tower. In accordance with looking-time paradigms, increased looking time to the novel block tower was used to measure event memory. Apes evidenced memory for the event featuring a social model, though not for the non-social condition. This effect was not dependent on attention differences to the videos. These findings provide the first evidence that, like humans, social stimuli increase nonhuman primates' event memory, which may aid in information transmission via social learning.

Gestural and symbolic development among apes and humans: support for a multimodal theory of language evolution.

PubMed

Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen; Greenfield, Patricia M; Lyn, Heidi; Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue

2014-01-01

What are the implications of similarities and differences in the gestural and symbolic development of apes and humans?This focused review uses as a starting point our recent study that provided evidence that gesture supported the symbolic development of a chimpanzee, a bonobo, and a human child reared in language-enriched environments at comparable stages of communicative development. These three species constitute a complete clade, species possessing a common immediate ancestor. Communicative behaviors observed among all species in a clade are likely to have been present in the common ancestor. Similarities in the form and function of many gestures produced by the chimpanzee, bonobo, and human child suggest that shared non-verbal skills may underlie shared symbolic capacities. Indeed, an ontogenetic sequence from gesture to symbol was present across the clade but more pronounced in child than ape. Multimodal expressions of communicative intent (e.g., vocalization plus persistence or eye-contact) were normative for the child, but less common for the apes. These findings suggest that increasing multimodal expression of communicative intent may have supported the emergence of language among the ancestors of humans. Therefore, this focused review includes new studies, since our 2013 article, that support a multimodal theory of language evolution.

The effect of foot posture on capacity to apply free moments to the ground: implications for fighting performance in great apes.

PubMed

Carrier, David R; Cunningham, Christopher

2017-02-15

In contrast to most other primates, great apes have feet in which the heel supports body weight during standing, walking and running. One possible advantage of this plantigrade foot posture is that it may enhance fighting performance by increasing the ability to apply free moments (i.e. force couples) to the ground. We tested this possibility by measuring performance of human subjects when performing from plantigrade and digitigrade (standing on the ball of the foot and toes) postures. We found that plantigrade posture substantially increased the capacity to apply free moments to the ground and to perform a variety of behaviors that are likely to be important to fighting performance in great apes. As predicted, performance in maximal effort lateral striking and pushing was strongly correlated with free moment magnitude. All else being equal, these results suggest species that can adopt plantigrade posture will be able to apply larger free moments to the ground than species restricted to digitigrade or unguligrade foot posture. Additionally, these results are consistent with the suggestion that selection for physical competition may have been one of the factors that led to the evolution of the derived plantigrade foot posture of great apes. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

FOXP2 variation in great ape populations offers insight into the evolution of communication skills.

PubMed

Staes, Nicky; Sherwood, Chet C; Wright, Katharine; de Manuel, Marc; Guevara, Elaine E; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Krützen, Michael; Massiah, Michael; Hopkins, William D; Ely, John J; Bradley, Brenda J

2017-12-04

The gene coding for the forkhead box protein P2 (FOXP2) is associated with human language disorders. Evolutionary changes in this gene are hypothesized to have contributed to the emergence of speech and language in the human lineage. Although FOXP2 is highly conserved across most mammals, humans differ at two functional amino acid substitutions from chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, with an additional fixed substitution found in orangutans. However, FOXP2 has been characterized in only a small number of apes and no publication to date has examined the degree of natural variation in large samples of unrelated great apes. Here, we analyzed the genetic variation in the FOXP2 coding sequence in 63 chimpanzees, 11 bonobos, 48 gorillas, 37 orangutans and 2 gibbons and observed undescribed variation in great apes. We identified two variable polyglutamine microsatellites in chimpanzees and orangutans and found three nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms, one in chimpanzees, one in gorillas and one in orangutans with derived allele frequencies of 0.01, 0.26 and 0.29, respectively. Structural and functional protein modeling indicate a biochemical effect of the substitution in orangutans, and because of its presence solely in the Sumatran orangutan species, the mutation may be associated with reported population differences in vocalizations.

Interpreting sulci on hominin endocasts: old hypotheses and new findings

PubMed Central

Falk, Dean

2014-01-01

Paleoneurologists analyze internal casts (endocasts) of fossilized braincases, which provide information about the size, shape and, to a limited degree, sulcal patterns reproduced from impressions left by the surface of the brain. When interpreted in light of comparative data from the brains of living apes and humans, sulcal patterns reproduced on hominin endocasts provide important information for studying the evolution of the cerebral cortex and cognition in human ancestors. Here, new evidence is discussed for the evolution of sulcal patterns associated with cortical reorganization in three parts of the hominin brain: (1) the parietotemporo-occipital association cortex, (2) Broca's speech area, and (3) dorsolateral prefrontal association cortex. Of the three regions, the evidence regarding the last is the clearest. Compared to great apes, Australopithecus endocasts reproduce a clear middle frontal sulcus in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that is derived toward the human condition. This finding is consistent with data from comparative cytoarchitectural studies of ape and human brains as well as shape analyses of australopithecine endocasts. The comparative and direct evidence for all three regions suggests that hominin brain reorganization was underway by at least the time of Australopithecus africanus (~2.5 to 3.0 mya), despite the ape-sized brains of these hominins, and that it entailed expansion of both rostral and caudal association cortices. PMID:24822043

GADD45α sensitizes cervical cancer cells to radiotherapy via increasing cytoplasmic APE1 level.

PubMed

Li, Qing; Wei, Xi; Zhou, Zhi-Wei; Wang, Shu-Nan; Jin, Hua; Chen, Kui-Jun; Luo, Jia; Westover, Kenneth D; Wang, Jian-Min; Wang, Dong; Xu, Cheng-Xiong; Shan, Jin-Lu

2018-05-09

Radioresistance remains a major clinical challenge in cervical cancer therapy. However, the mechanism for the development of radioresistance in cervical cancer is unclear. Herein, we determined that growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45α (GADD45α) is decreased in radioresistant cervical cancer compared to radiosensitive cancer both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, silencing GADD45α prevents cervical cancer cells from undergoing radiation-induced DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. More importantly, our data show that the overexpression of GADD45α significantly enhances the radiosensitivity of radioresistant cervical cancer cells. These data show that GADD45α decreases the cytoplasmic distribution of APE1, thereby enhancing the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, we show that GADD45α inhibits the production of nitric oxide (NO), a nuclear APE1 export stimulator, by suppressing both endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in cervical cancer cells. In conclusion, our findings suggest that decreased GADD45α expression significantly contributes to the development of radioresistance and that ectopic expression of GADD45α sensitizes cervical cancer cells to radiotherapy. GADD45α inhibits the NO-regulated cytoplasmic localization of APE1 through inhibiting eNOS and iNOS, thereby enhancing the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells.

Diversity of microsporidia (Fungi: Microsporidia) among captive great apes in European zoos and African sanctuaries: evidence for zoonotic transmission?

PubMed

Sak, Bohumil; Kvác, Martin; Petrzelková, Klára; Kvetonová, Dana; Pomajbíková, Kateina; Mulama, Martin; Kiyang, John; Modrý, David

2011-06-01

Abstract: Two hundred and seventeen captive great apes (150 chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes; 14 bonobos, Pan paniscus; 53 western gorillas, Gorilla gorilla) and 20 personnel from thirteen European zoos and two African sanctuaries were sampled and examined in order to determine the occurrence ofEnterocytozoon bieneusi and species of Encephalitozoon in faecal specimens and to compare the epidemiological situation between zoos and sanctuaries. Microsporidia were detected at all sampling sites. Sequence analyses of ITS amplicons generated by using microsporidia-specific primers determined the presence ofmicrosporidia in 87 samples including 13 humans; since two cases of simultaneous occurrence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Enterocytozoon bieneusi were identified, 89 full-length ITS sequences were obtained, namely 78 Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype I, five E. cuniculi genotype II, two E. hellem 1A and four Enterocytozoon bieneusi. No Encephalitozoon intestinalis-positive samples were identified. This is the first report of Encephalitozoon species and Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes in captive great apes kept under various conditions and the first record of natural infection with E. hellem in great apes. A comparison of zoos and sanctuaries showed a significantly higher prevalence of microsporidia in sanctuaries (P<0.001), raising a question about the factors affecting the occurrence of microsporidia in epidemiologically and sanitarily comparable types of facilities.

Moral reasoning about great apes in research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okamoto, Carol Midori

2006-04-01

This study explored how individuals (biomedical scientists, Great Ape Project activists, lay adults, undergraduate biology and environmental studies students, and Grade 12 and 9 biology students) morally judge and reason about using great apes in biomedical and language research. How these groups perceived great apes' mental capacities (e.g., pain, logical thinking) and how these perceptions related to their judgments were investigated through two scenarios. In addition, the kinds of informational statements (e.g., biology, economics) that may affect individuals' scenario judgments were investigated. A negative correlation was found between mental attributions and scenario judgments while no clear pattern occurred for the informational statements. For the biomedical scenario, all groups significantly differed in mean judgment ratings except for the biomedical scientists, GAP activists and Grade 9 students. For the language scenario, all groups differed except for the GAP activists, and undergraduate environmental studies and Grade 9 students. An in-depth qualitative analysis showed that although the biomedical scientists, GAP activists and Grade 9 students had similar judgments, they produced different mean percentages of justifications under four moral frameworks (virtue, utilitarianism, deontology, and welfare). The GAP activists used more virtue reasoning while the biomedical scientists and Grade 9 students used more utilitarian and welfare reasoning, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of developing environmental/humane education curricula.

Gestural and symbolic development among apes and humans: support for a multimodal theory of language evolution

PubMed Central

Gillespie-Lynch, Kristen; Greenfield, Patricia M.; Lyn, Heidi; Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue

2014-01-01

What are the implications of similarities and differences in the gestural and symbolic development of apes and humans?This focused review uses as a starting point our recent study that provided evidence that gesture supported the symbolic development of a chimpanzee, a bonobo, and a human child reared in language-enriched environments at comparable stages of communicative development. These three species constitute a complete clade, species possessing a common immediate ancestor. Communicative behaviors observed among all species in a clade are likely to have been present in the common ancestor. Similarities in the form and function of many gestures produced by the chimpanzee, bonobo, and human child suggest that shared non-verbal skills may underlie shared symbolic capacities. Indeed, an ontogenetic sequence from gesture to symbol was present across the clade but more pronounced in child than ape. Multimodal expressions of communicative intent (e.g., vocalization plus persistence or eye-contact) were normative for the child, but less common for the apes. These findings suggest that increasing multimodal expression of communicative intent may have supported the emergence of language among the ancestors of humans. Therefore, this focused review includes new studies, since our 2013 article, that support a multimodal theory of language evolution. PMID:25400607

Risk and ReORIENTations: An Asianist Approach to Teaching Afro-Haitian Dance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Angeline

2018-01-01

I present an action research study that enacts an Asianist somatic movement education approach to teaching Afro-Haitian dance at Arizona State University as a response to my Chinese American body's experience of hegemony in postsecondary dance curriculum. My pedagogical framework uses an intercultural teaching approach that applies a somatic…

Interpretation of NO and OH Emission from 1976 Airborne Measurements,

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-01

Development. .~\\ . 0.. ’ ~1 AIR FORCE GEOPHYSICS LABORATORY AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND UNITED STATES AIR FORCE UANSCOM APE , MASSACHUSETTS 01731 79 09 17 ...INGSCHEDULE 16. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of tAle R.port) Approved for public release , distribution unlimited 17 . DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of iS. abet,act .nt...for March 7, 1976 from 1000 to 1030 UT, and processed 2.94 pm data with the OH background removed 17 Figure 5. Measured 39l4~ , 2.94 pm , and 1.7 pm

The Evolution of New Teacher Induction Policy: Support, Specificity, and Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartlett, Lora; Johnson, Lisa S.

2010-01-01

This article analyzes the findings from a three-state study of teacher induction policy. It looks within and across Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin to explore the landscape and experience of teacher induction. Although the orientation and conception of each state's policy is similar, the states represent three different structural approaches to…

3D geometric morphometric analysis of the proximal epiphysis of the hominoid humerus

PubMed Central

Arias-Martorell, Julia; Potau, Josep Maria; Bello-Hellegouarch, Gaëlle; Pastor, Juan Francisco; Pérez-Pérez, Alejandro

2012-01-01

In this study we perform a three-dimensional geometric morphometric (3D GM) analysis of the proximal epiphysis of the humerus in extant great apes, including humans, in order to accurately describe the functional anatomical differences between these taxa. In addition, a fossil hominin specimen of Australopithecus afarensis was included in a multivariate GM analysis in order to test the potential of this methodological approach for making locomotor inferences from fossil remains. The results obtained show significant differences in proximal humeral morphology among the taxa studied, which had thus far largely remained unnoticed. Based on morphofunctional considerations, these anatomical differences can be correlated to differences in the locomotor repertoires of the taxa, thus confirming that the proximal humerus is suitable for constructing paleobiological inferences about locomotion. Modern humans display markedly divergent features, which set them apart from both the extant great apes and the fossil hominin A. afarensis. The morphology of the proximal epiphysis of the humerus of the latter more closely resembles that of the orangutans, thus suggesting that despite hindlimb adaptations to bipedalism, the forelimb of this taxon was still functionally involved in arboreal behaviors, such as climbing or suspension. PMID:22946496

Model and on-orbit study of the International space station contamination processes by jets of its orientation thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yarygin, V. N.; Gerasimov, Yu I.; Krylov, A. N.; Prikhodko, V. G.; Skorovarov, A. Yu; Yarygin, I. V.

2017-11-01

The main objective of this paper is to describe the current state of research for the problem of the International Space Station contamination by plumes of its orientation thrusters. Results of experiments carried out at the Institute of Thermophysics SB RAS modeling space vehicles orientation thruster’s plumes are presented and experimental setup is discussed. A novel approach to reduction of contamination by thrusters with the help of special gas-dynamic protective devices mounted at the exit part of the nozzle is suggested. The description and results of on-orbit experiment at the International Space Station are given. Results show good agreement for model and on-orbit experiments validating our approach.

Overcoming Drug Resistant Prostate Cancer with APE1/Ref 1 Blockade

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

prostate cancer specimens. Genetic knockdown of APE1/Ref-1 disrupts prostate cancer cell growth and survival in cell culture. In addition...inhibition of the redox function selectively of Ref-1 results in cell growth inhibition, with this therapy preferentially inhibiting prostate cancer cell... growth above that in non-cancerous cells. Specific blockade of Ref-1 redox activity in tumors is a novel concept in tumor therapy. If we are successful

The Relationship of African Apes, Man, and Old World Monkeys

PubMed Central

Leakey, L. S. B.

1970-01-01

The conclusions of Wilson and Sarich (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 63, 1088-1093 (1969) that the human lineage diverged from that leading to the African apes about 4 to 5 million years ago is shown to be based upon a wholly unsupported assumption that the Superfamilies Hominoidea and Cercopithecoidea only separated from each other some 30 million years ago. This is entirely contrary to most recent palaeontological evidence. PMID:5002096

“Giving” and “responding” differences in gestural communication between nonhuman great ape mothers and infants

PubMed Central

Liebal, Katja; Call, Josep

2017-01-01

Abstract In the first comparative analysis of its kind, we investigated gesture behavior and response patterns in 25 captive ape mother–infant dyads (six bonobos, eight chimpanzees, three gorillas, and eight orangutans). We examined (i) how frequently mothers and infants gestured to each other and to other group members; and (ii) to what extent infants and mothers responded to the gestural attempts of others. Our findings confirmed the hypothesis that bonobo mothers were more proactive in their gesturing to their infants than the other species. Yet mothers (from all four species) often did not respond to the gestures of their infants and other group members. In contrast, infants “pervasively” responded to gestures they received from their mothers and other group members. We propose that infants’ pervasive responsiveness rather than the quality of mother investment and her responsiveness may be crucial to communication development in nonhuman great apes. PMID:28323346

In-Service Physical Educators' Experiences of Online Adapted Physical Education Endorsement Courses.

PubMed

Sato, Takahiro; Haegele, Justin A; Foot, Rachel

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service physical education (PE) teachers' experiences during online adapted physical education (APE) graduate courses. Based on andragogy theory (adult learning theory) we employed a descriptive qualitative methodology using an explanatory case study design. The participants (6 female and 3 male) were in-service PE teachers enrolled in an online graduate APE endorsement program. Data collection included journal reflection reports and face-to-face interviews. A constant comparative method was used to interpret the data. Three interrelated themes emerged from the participants' narratives. The first theme, instructor communication, exposes the advantages and disadvantages the participants perceived regarding communication while enrolled in the online APE graduate courses. The second theme, bulletin board discussion experiences, described participants' perceptions of the use of the bulletin board discussion forum. Lastly, the final theme, assessment experiences, described how the participants learned knowledge and skills through online courses related to assessment and evaluation.

New genus of extinct Holocene gibbon associated with humans in Imperial China.

PubMed

Turvey, Samuel T; Bruun, Kristoffer; Ortiz, Alejandra; Hansford, James; Hu, Songmei; Ding, Yan; Zhang, Tianen; Chatterjee, Helen J

2018-06-22

Although all extant apes are threatened with extinction, there is no evidence for human-caused extinctions of apes or other primates in postglacial continental ecosystems, despite intensive anthropogenic pressures associated with biodiversity loss for millennia in many regions. Here, we report a new, globally extinct genus and species of gibbon, Junzi imperialis , described from a partial cranium and mandible from a ~2200- to 2300-year-old tomb from Shaanxi, China. Junzi can be differentiated from extant hylobatid genera and the extinct Quaternary gibbon Bunopithecus by using univariate and multivariate analyses of craniodental morphometric data. Primates are poorly represented in the Chinese Quaternary fossil record, but historical accounts suggest that China may have contained an endemic ape radiation that has only recently disappeared. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Primate pelvic anatomy and implications for birth.

PubMed

Trevathan, Wenda

2015-03-05

The pelvis performs two major functions for terrestrial mammals. It provides somewhat rigid support for muscles engaged in locomotion and, for females, it serves as the birth canal. The result for many species, and especially for encephalized primates, is an 'obstetric dilemma' whereby the neonate often has to negotiate a tight squeeze in order to be born. On top of what was probably a baseline of challenging birth, locomotor changes in the evolution of bipedalism in the human lineage resulted in an even more complex birth process. Negotiation of the bipedal pelvis requires a series of rotations, the end of which has the infant emerging from the birth canal facing the opposite direction from the mother. This pattern, strikingly different from what is typically seen in monkeys and apes, places a premium on having assistance at delivery. Recently reported observations of births in monkeys and apes are used to compare the process in human and non-human primates, highlighting similarities and differences. These include presentation (face, occiput anterior or posterior), internal and external rotation, use of the hands by mothers and infants, reliance on assistance, and the developmental state of the neonate. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Primate pelvic anatomy and implications for birth

PubMed Central

Trevathan, Wenda

2015-01-01

The pelvis performs two major functions for terrestrial mammals. It provides somewhat rigid support for muscles engaged in locomotion and, for females, it serves as the birth canal. The result for many species, and especially for encephalized primates, is an ‘obstetric dilemma’ whereby the neonate often has to negotiate a tight squeeze in order to be born. On top of what was probably a baseline of challenging birth, locomotor changes in the evolution of bipedalism in the human lineage resulted in an even more complex birth process. Negotiation of the bipedal pelvis requires a series of rotations, the end of which has the infant emerging from the birth canal facing the opposite direction from the mother. This pattern, strikingly different from what is typically seen in monkeys and apes, places a premium on having assistance at delivery. Recently reported observations of births in monkeys and apes are used to compare the process in human and non-human primates, highlighting similarities and differences. These include presentation (face, occiput anterior or posterior), internal and external rotation, use of the hands by mothers and infants, reliance on assistance, and the developmental state of the neonate. PMID:25602069

A comparative analysis of temporomandibular joint morphology in the African apes.

PubMed

Taylor, Andrea B

2005-06-01

A number of researchers have suggested a functional relationship between dietary variation and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) morphology, yet few studies have evaluated TMJ form in the African apes. In this study, I compare TMJ morphology in adults and during ontogeny in Gorilla (G.g. beringei, G.g. graueri, and G.g. gorilla) and Pan (P. paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, P.t. schweinfurthii, and P.t. verus). I test two hypotheses: first, compared to all other African apes, G.g. beringei exhibits TMJ morphologies that would be predicted for a primate that consumes a diet comprised primarily of moderately to very tough, leafy vegetation; and second, all gorillas exhibit the same predicted morphologies compared to Pan. Compared to all adult African apes, G.g. beringei has higher rami and condyles positioned further above the occlusal plane of the mandible, relative to jaw length. Thus, mountain gorillas have the potential to generate relatively more muscle force, more evenly distribute occlusal forces along the postcanine teeth, and generate relatively greater jaw adductor moment. G.g. beringei also exhibits relatively wider mandibular condyles, suggesting these folivorous apes are able to resist relatively greater compressive loads along the lateral and/or medial aspect of the condyle. All gorillas likewise exhibit these same shape differences compared to Pan. These morphological responses are the predicted consequences of intensification of folivory and, as such, provide support for functional hypotheses linking these TMJ morphologies to degree of folivory. The African apes to not, however, demonstrate a systematic pattern of divergence in relative condylar area as a function of intensification of folivory. The ontogenetic trajectories for gorillas are significantly elevated above those of Pan, and to a lesser but still significant degree, mountain gorillas similarly deviate from lowland gorillas (G.g. gorilla and G.g. graueri). Thus, adult shape differences in ramal and condylar heights do not result from the simple extrapolation of common growth allometries relative to jaw length. As such, they are suggestive of an adaptive shift towards a tougher, more folivorous diet. However, the allometric patterning for condylar area and condylar width does not systematically conform to predictions based on dietary specialization. Thus, while differences in condylar shapes may confer functional advantages both during growth and as adults, there is no evidence to suggest selection for altered condylar proportions, independent of the effects of changes in jaw size.

Modulatory Effect of Aerobic Physical Activity on Synaptic Ultrastructure in the Old Mouse Hippocampus.

PubMed

Fattoretti, Patrizia; Malatesta, Manuela; Cisterna, Barbara; Milanese, Chiara; Zancanaro, Carlo

2018-01-01

Aerobic physical exercise (APE) leads to improved brain functions. To better understand the beneficial effect of APE on the aging brain, a morphometric study was carried out of changes in hippocampal synapses of old (>27 months) Balb/c mice undergoing treadmill training (OTT) for 4 weeks in comparison with old sedentary (OS), middle-aged sedentary (MAS) and middle-aged treadmill training (MATT) mice. The inner molecular layer of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (IMLDG) and the molecular stratum of Ammon's horn1 neurons (SMCA1) were investigated. The number of synapses per cubic micron of tissue (numeric density, Nv), overall synaptic area per cubic micron of tissue (surface density, Sv), average area of synaptic contact zones (S), and frequency (%) of perforated synapses (PS) were measured in electron micrographs of ethanol-phosphotungstic acid (E-PTA) stained tissue. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA). In IMLDG, an effect of age was found for Nv and Sv, but not S and %PS. Similar results were found for exercise and the interaction of age and exercise. In post hoc analysis Nv was higher (60.6% to 75.1%; p < 0.001) in MATT vs. MAS, OS and OTT. Sv was higher (32.3% to 54.6%; p < 0.001) in MATT vs. MAS, OS and OTT. In SMCA1, age affected Nv, Sv and %PS, but not S. The effect of exercise was significant for Sv only. The interaction of age and exercise was significant for Nv, Sv and %PS. In post hoc analysis Nv was lower in OS vs. MAS, MATT and OTT (-26.1% to -32.1%; p < 0.038). MAS and OTT were similar. Sv was lower in OS vs. MAS, MATT and OTT (-23.4 to -30.3%, p < 0.004). MAS and OTT were similar. PS frequency was higher in OS vs. MAS, MATT and OTT (48.3% to +96.6%, p < 0.023). APE positively modulated synaptic structural dynamics in the aging hippocampus, possibly in a region-specific way. The APE-associated reduction in PS frequency in SMCA1 of old mice suggests that an increasing complement of PS is a compensatory phenomenon to maintain synaptic efficacy. In conclusion, the modulation of synaptic plasticity by APE gives quantitative support to the concept that APE protects from neurodegeneration and improves learning and memory in aging.

Investigation of the physicochemical and physicomechanical properties of a novel intravaginal bioadhesive polymeric device in the pig model.

PubMed

Ndesendo, Valence M K; Pillay, Viness; Choonara, Yahya E; du Toit, Lisa C; Buchmann, Eckhart; Meyer, Leith C R; Khan, Riaz A; Rosin, Uwe

2010-06-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the bioadhesivity, in vitro drug release, and permeation of an intravaginal bioadhesive polymeric device (IBPD) loaded with 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). Modified polyamide 6,10, poly(lactic-coglycolic acid), polyacrylic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, and ethylcellulose were blended with model drugs AZT and PSS as well as radio-opaque barium sulfate (BaSO4) and then compressed into caplet devices on a tableting press. One set of devices was coated with 2% w/v pentaerythritol polyacrylic acid (APE-PAA) while another remained uncoated. Thermal analysis was performed on the constituent polymers as well the IBPD. The changes in micro-environmental pH within the simulated human vaginal fluid due to the presence of the IBPD were assessed over a period of 30 days. Textural profile analysis indicated that the bioadhesivity of the APE-PAA-coated devices (3.699 +/- 0.464 N; 0.0098 +/- 0.0004 J) was higher than that of the uncoated devices (1.198 +/- 0.150 N; 0.0019 +/- 0.0001 J). In addition, BaSO4-facilitated X-ray imaging revealed that the IBPD adhered to pig vaginal tissue over the experimental period of 30 days. Controlled drug release kinetics was obtained over 72 days. During a 24-h permeation study, an increase in drug flux for both AZT (0.84 mg cm(-2) h(-1)) and PSS (0.72 mg cm(-2) h(-1)) was realized up to 12 h and thereafter a steady-state was achieved. The diffusion and dissolution dynamics were mechanistically deduced based on a chemometric and molecular structure modeling approach. Overall, results suggested that the IBPD may be sufficiently bioadhesive with desirable physicochemical and physicomechanical stability for use as a prolonged intravaginal drug delivery device.

Oreopithecus was a bipedal ape after all: Evidence from the iliac cancellous architecture

PubMed Central

Rook, Lorenzo; Bondioli, Luca; Köhler, Meike; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Macchiarelli, Roberto

1999-01-01

Textural properties and functional morphology of the hip bone cancellous network of Oreopithecus bambolii, a 9- to 7-million-year-old Late Miocene hominoid from Italy, provide insights into the postural and locomotor behavior of this fossil ape. Digital image processing of calibrated hip bone radiographs reveals the occurrence of trabecular features, which, in humans and fossil hominids, are related to vertical support of the body weight, i.e., to bipedality. PMID:10411955

Ravens, New Caledonian crows and jackdaws parallel great apes in motor self-regulation despite smaller brains.

PubMed

Kabadayi, Can; Taylor, Lucy A; von Bayern, Auguste M P; Osvath, Mathias

2016-04-01

Overriding motor impulses instigated by salient perceptual stimuli represent a fundamental inhibitory skill. Such motor self-regulation facilitates more rational behaviour, as it brings economy into the bodily interaction with the physical and social world. It also underlies certain complex cognitive processes including decision making. Recently, MacLean et al. (MacLean et al. 2014 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 2140-2148. (doi:10.1073/pnas.1323533111)) conducted a large-scale study involving 36 species, comparing motor self-regulation across taxa. They concluded that absolute brain size predicts level of performance. The great apes were most successful. Only a few of the species tested were birds. Given birds' small brain size-in absolute terms-yet flexible behaviour, their motor self-regulation calls for closer study. Corvids exhibit some of the largest relative avian brain sizes-although small in absolute measure-as well as the most flexible cognition in the animal kingdom. We therefore tested ravens, New Caledonian crows and jackdaws in the so-called cylinder task. We found performance indistinguishable from that of great apes despite the much smaller brains. We found both absolute and relative brain volume to be a reliable predictor of performance within Aves. The complex cognition of corvids is often likened to that of great apes; our results show further that they share similar fundamental cognitive mechanisms.

Toward granting linguistic competence to apes: A review of Savage-Rumbaugh et al.'s Language Comprehension in Ape and Child1

PubMed Central

Sundberg, Mark L.

1996-01-01

Savage-Rumbaugh et al.'s (1993) monograph describes a study that compared the language comprehension of an 8-year-old ape (a bonobo named Kanzi) with that of a normal 2-year-old human (Alia). The primary purpose of the research was to see if Kanzi could comprehend novel and compound spoken English commands without imitative prompts, contrived reinforcement contingencies, or explicit training procedures. As it turned out, Kanzi acquired a complex comprehension repertoire in a pattern similar to the human child's and even performed better than the human child in many cases. Although this review describes these empirical results favorably, it questions the authors' claim that the subjects learned the repertoire on their own, without reinforcement or training. A close examination of the subjects' histories and of the procedures, transcripts, and videos suggested that the training and testing procedures involved a number of independent variables and processes that were not discussed by the authors, including conditioned reinforcement and punishment, verbal prompts, stimulus control, establishing operations, and extinction. Nonetheless, the methodological and empirical contributions to ape and human language research are substantial and deserve behavior analysts' attention and support. Behavior analysts could contribute to this kind of research by applying the analytic and conceptual tools of behavior analysis in general and the concepts from Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957) in particular.

APE1 incision activity at abasic sites in tandem repeat sequences.

PubMed

Li, Mengxia; Völker, Jens; Breslauer, Kenneth J; Wilson, David M

2014-05-29

Repetitive DNA sequences, such as those present in microsatellites and minisatellites, telomeres, and trinucleotide repeats (linked to fragile X syndrome, Huntington disease, etc.), account for nearly 30% of the human genome. These domains exhibit enhanced susceptibility to oxidative attack to yield base modifications, strand breaks, and abasic sites; have a propensity to adopt non-canonical DNA forms modulated by the positions of the lesions; and, when not properly processed, can contribute to genome instability that underlies aging and disease development. Knowledge on the repair efficiencies of DNA damage within such repetitive sequences is therefore crucial for understanding the impact of such domains on genomic integrity. In the present study, using strategically designed oligonucleotide substrates, we determined the ability of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) to cleave at apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in a collection of tandem DNA repeat landscapes involving telomeric and CAG/CTG repeat sequences. Our studies reveal the differential influence of domain sequence, conformation, and AP site location/relative positioning on the efficiency of APE1 binding and strand incision. Intriguingly, our data demonstrate that APE1 endonuclease efficiency correlates with the thermodynamic stability of the DNA substrate. We discuss how these results have both predictive and mechanistic consequences for understanding the success and failure of repair protein activity associated with such oxidatively sensitive, conformationally plastic/dynamic repetitive DNA domains. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Personality Structure in Brown Capuchin Monkeys: Comparisons with Chimpanzees, Orangutans, and Rhesus Macaques

PubMed Central

Morton, F. Blake; Lee, Phyllis C.; Buchanan-Smith, Hannah M.; Brosnan, Sarah F.; Thierry, Bernard; Paukner, Annika; de Waal, Frans B. M.; Widness, Jane; Essler, Jennifer L.; Weiss, Alexander

2013-01-01

Species comparisons of personality structure (i.e. how many personality dimensions and the characteristics of those dimensions) can facilitate questions about the adaptive function of personality in nonhuman primates. Here we investigate personality structure in the brown capuchin monkey (Sapajus apella), a New World primate species, and compare this structure to those of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), orangutans (Pongo spp.), and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Brown capuchins evolved behavioral and cognitive traits that are qualitatively similar to those of great apes, and individual differences in behavior and cognition are closely associated with differences in personality. Thus, we hypothesized that brown capuchin personality structure would overlap more with great apes than with rhesus macaques. We obtained personality ratings from seven sites on 127 brown capuchin monkeys. Principal-components analysis identified five personality dimensions (Assertiveness, Openness, Neuroticism, Sociability, and Attentiveness), which were reliable across raters and, in a subset of subjects, significantly correlated with relevant behaviors up to a year later. Comparisons between species revealed that brown capuchins and great apes overlapped in personality structure, particularly chimpanzees in the case of Neuroticism. However, in some respects (i.e. capuchin Sociability and Openness) the similarities between capuchins and great apes were not significantly greater than those between capuchins and rhesus macaques. We discuss the relevance of our results to brown capuchin behavior, and the evolution of personality structure in primates. PMID:23668695

Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys.

PubMed

Hill, Andrew; Collier-Baker, Emma; Suddendorf, Thomas

2011-02-01

Using the cups task, in which subjects are presented with limited visual or auditory information that can be used to deduce the location of a hidden reward, Call (2004) found prima facie evidence of inferential reasoning by exclusion in several great ape species. One bonobo (Pan paniscus) and two gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) appeared to make such inferences in both the visual and auditory domains. However, common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were successful only in the visual domain, and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in neither. The present research built on this paradigm, and Experiment 1 yielded prima facie evidence of inference by exclusion in both domains for two common chimpanzees, and in the visual domain for two Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that two specific associative learning explanations could not readily account for these results. Because an important focus of the program of research was to assess the cognitive capacities of lesser apes (family Hylobatidae), we modified Call's original procedures to better suit their attentional and dispositional characteristics. In Experiment 1, testing was also attempted with three gibbon genera (Symphalangus, Nomascus, Hylobates), but none of the subjects completed the standard task. Further testing of three siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus) and a spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) using a faster method yielded prima facie evidence of inferential reasoning by exclusion in the visual domain among the siamangs (Experiment 4).

Adenovirus and Herpesvirus Diversity in Free-Ranging Great Apes in the Sangha Region of the Republic of Congo

PubMed Central

Seimon, Tracie A.; Olson, Sarah H.; Lee, Kerry Jo; Rosen, Gail; Ondzie, Alain; Cameron, Kenneth; Reed, Patricia; Anthony, Simon J.; Joly, Damien O.; McAloose, Denise; Lipkin, W. Ian

2015-01-01

Infectious diseases have caused die-offs in both free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees. Understanding pathogen diversity and disease ecology is therefore critical for conserving these endangered animals. To determine viral diversity in free-ranging, non-habituated gorillas and chimpanzees in the Republic of Congo, genetic testing was performed on great-ape fecal samples collected near Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Samples were analyzed to determine ape species, identify individuals in the population, and to test for the presence of herpesviruses, adenoviruses, poxviruses, bocaviruses, flaviviruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses, filoviruses, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We identified 19 DNA viruses representing two viral families, Herpesviridae and Adenoviridae, of which three herpesviruses had not been previously described. Co-detections of multiple herpesviruses and/or adenoviruses were present in both gorillas and chimpanzees. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and lymphocryptovirus (LCV) were found primarily in the context of co-association with each other and adenoviruses. Using viral discovery curves for herpesviruses and adenoviruses, the total viral richness in the sample population of gorillas and chimpanzees was estimated to be a minimum of 23 viruses, corresponding to a detection rate of 83%. These findings represent the first description of DNA viral diversity in feces from free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees in or near the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and form a basis for understanding the types of viruses circulating among great apes in this region. PMID:25781992

Sexual dimorphic features within extant great ape faciodental skeletal anatomy and testing the single species hypothesis.

PubMed

Cameron, D W

1997-01-01

This paper examines sexually dimorphic skeletal characters within the face and upper dentition of extant hominids (great ape), not including members of the Hominini. Specimens of Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Pongo pygmaeus are used to help identify likely sex specific characters for the Hominidae. The aim of this paper is to identify extant hominid faciodental sexual features which can be used to help sex fossil specimens. A morphometric and skeletal study of sexual variability demonstrates relatively diverse patterns of sexual variability within the extant hominids. In terms of morphometrics, P. paniscus is relatively non-dimorphic, while P. troglodytes, Gorilla and Pongo display a large degree of sexual dimorphism. In their respective skeletal anatomies, however, each has specific characters which tend to differentiate between the sexes. Some faciodental sex features are shown to be common amongst all four taxa and as such are likely to be important criteria for determining the sex of Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominid specimens. The construction of extant great ape sexual ranges of variability are also important in helping to test the fossil ape single species hypotheses. The testing of sex and species ranges of variability should employ range based statistics not only because they are sample size independent, (relative to C.V.) but also because they are of low power.

Sylvian Fissure Asymmetries in Nonhuman Primates Revisited: A Comparative MRI Study

PubMed Central

Hopkins, William D.; Pilcher, Dawn L.; MacGregor, Leslie

2007-01-01

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) were collected in a sample of 28 apes, 16 Old World monkeys and 8 New World monkeys. The length of the sylvian fissure (SF) and the superior temporal sulcus (STS) was traced in each hemisphere from three regions of the cerebral cortex. These three regions were labeled according to their position on the sagittal plane as lateral, medial and insular. It was hypothesized that the length and asymmetry of these fissures would be dependent on the region of measurement and that a leftward asymmetry in the SF and STS would be more robust in the great ape sample than for the monkeys. The results indicated within the ape sample a population-level leftward asymmetry in the medial and insular regions of the SF. Within the Old and New World monkey samples, the SF was leftward in the medial region at the population level, but not at the insular region. Additionally, the Old World monkeys exhibited a population-level rightward lateral SF and a rightward lateral STS. No other families exhibited population-level asymmetries in the lateral region of the SF or in any region of the STS. These results are consistent with findings reported in apes and, to a lesser extent, monkeys. MRI has excellent potential for comparing neuroanatomy across taxonomic families that will help future investigations. PMID:11326134

Adenovirus and herpesvirus diversity in free-ranging great apes in the Sangha region of the Republic Of Congo.

PubMed

Seimon, Tracie A; Olson, Sarah H; Lee, Kerry Jo; Rosen, Gail; Ondzie, Alain; Cameron, Kenneth; Reed, Patricia; Anthony, Simon J; Joly, Damien O; Karesh, William B; McAloose, Denise; Lipkin, W Ian

2015-01-01

Infectious diseases have caused die-offs in both free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees. Understanding pathogen diversity and disease ecology is therefore critical for conserving these endangered animals. To determine viral diversity in free-ranging, non-habituated gorillas and chimpanzees in the Republic of Congo, genetic testing was performed on great-ape fecal samples collected near Odzala-Kokoua National Park. Samples were analyzed to determine ape species, identify individuals in the population, and to test for the presence of herpesviruses, adenoviruses, poxviruses, bocaviruses, flaviviruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses, filoviruses, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We identified 19 DNA viruses representing two viral families, Herpesviridae and Adenoviridae, of which three herpesviruses had not been previously described. Co-detections of multiple herpesviruses and/or adenoviruses were present in both gorillas and chimpanzees. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and lymphocryptovirus (LCV) were found primarily in the context of co-association with each other and adenoviruses. Using viral discovery curves for herpesviruses and adenoviruses, the total viral richness in the sample population of gorillas and chimpanzees was estimated to be a minimum of 23 viruses, corresponding to a detection rate of 83%. These findings represent the first description of DNA viral diversity in feces from free-ranging gorillas and chimpanzees in or near the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and form a basis for understanding the types of viruses circulating among great apes in this region.

On Anticipatory Development of Dual Education Based on the Systemic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alshynbayeva, Zhuldyz; Sarbassova, Karlygash; Galiyeva, Temir; Kaltayeva, Gulnara; Bekmagambetov, Aidos

2016-01-01

The article addresses separate theoretical and methodical aspects of the anticipatory development of dual education in the Republic of Kazakhstan based on the systemic approach. It states the need to develop orientating basis of prospective professional activities in students. We define the concepts of anticipatory cognition and anticipatory…

Person-Oriented Approaches to Profiling Learners in Technology-Rich Learning Environments for Ecological Learner Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jang, Eunice Eunhee; Lajoie, Susanne P.; Wagner, Maryam; Xu, Zhenhua; Poitras, Eric; Naismith, Laura

2017-01-01

Technology-rich learning environments (TREs) provide opportunities for learners to engage in complex interactions involving a multitude of cognitive, metacognitive, and affective states. Understanding learners' distinct learning progressions in TREs demand inquiry approaches that employ well-conceived theoretical accounts of these multiple facets.…

A behavioral view on chimpanzee personality: exploration tendency, persistence, boldness, and tool-orientation measured with group experiments.

PubMed

Massen, Jorg J M; Antonides, Alexandra; Arnold, Anne-Marie K; Bionda, Thomas; Koski, Sonja E

2013-09-01

Human and nonhuman animals show personality: temporal and contextual consistency in behavior patterns that vary among individuals. In contrast to most other species, personality of chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, has mainly been studied with non-behavioral methods. We examined boldness, exploration tendency, persistence and tool-orientation in 29 captive chimpanzees using repeated experiments conducted in an ecologically valid social setting. High temporal repeatability and contextual consistency in all these traits indicated they reflected personality. In addition, Principal Component Analysis revealed two independent syndromes, labeled exploration-persistence and boldness. We found no sex or rank differences in the trait scores, but the scores declined with age. Nonetheless, there was considerable inter-individual variation within age-classes, suggesting that behavior was not merely determined by age but also by dispositional effects. In conclusion, our study complements earlier rating studies and adds new traits to the chimpanzee personality, thereby supporting the existence of multiple personality traits among chimpanzees. We stress the importance of ecologically valid behavioral research to assess multiple personality traits and their association, as it allows inclusion of ape studies in the comparison of personality structures across species studied behaviorally, and furthers our attempts to unravel the causes and consequences of animal personality. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mental-orientation: A new approach to assessing patients across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.

PubMed

Peters-Founshtein, Gregory; Peer, Michael; Rein, Yanai; Kahana Merhavi, Shlomzion; Meiner, Zeev; Arzy, Shahar

2018-05-21

This study aims to assess the role of mental-orientation in the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease using a novel task. A behavioral study (Experiment 1) compared the mental-orientation task to standard neuropsychological tests in patients across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum. A functional MRI study (Experiment 2) in young adults compared activations evoked by the mental-orientation and standard-orientation tasks as well as their overlap with brain regions susceptible to Alzheimer's disease pathology. The mental-orientation task differentiated mild cognitively impaired and healthy controls at 95% accuracy, while the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, Mini-Mental State Examination and standard-orientation achieved 74%, 70% and 50% accuracy, respectively. Functional MRI revealed the mental-orientation task to preferentially recruit brain regions exhibiting early Alzheimer's-related atrophy, unlike the standard-orientation test. Mental-orientation is suggested to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease, and consequently in early detection and follow-up of patients along the Alzheimer's disease spectrum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Detection of two distinct forms of apoC-I in great apes.

PubMed

Puppione, Donald L; Ryan, Christopher M; Bassilian, Sara; Souda, Puneet; Xiao, Xinshu; Ryder, Oliver A; Whitelegge, Julian P

2010-03-01

ApoC-I, the smallest of the soluble apolipoproteins, associates with both TG-rich lipoproteins and HDL. Mass spectral analyses of human apoC-I previously had demonstrated that in the circulation there are two forms, either a 57 amino acid protein or a 55 amino acid protein, due to the loss of two amino acids from the N-terminus. In our analyses of the apolipoproteins of the other great apes by mass spectrometry, four forms of apoC-I were detected. Two of these showed a high degree of identity to the mature and truncated forms of human apoC-I. The other two were homologous to the virtual protein and its truncated form that are encoded by a human pseudogene. In humans, the genes for apoC-I and its pseudogene are located on chromosome 19, the pseudogene being 2.5 kb downstream from the apoC-I gene. Based on the similarity between the apoC-I gene and the pseudogene, it has been concluded that the latter arose from the former as a result of gene duplication approximately 35 million years ago. Interestingly, the virtual protein encoded by the pseudogene is acidic, not basic like apoC-I. In the chimpanzee, there also are two genes for apoC-I, the one upstream encodes a basic protein and the downstream gene, rather than being a pseudogene, encodes an acidic protein (P86336). In addition to reporting on the molecular masses of great ape apoC-I, we were able to clearly demonstrate by "Top-down" sequencing that the acidic form arose from a separate gene. In our analyses, we have measured the molecular masses of apoC-I associated with the HDL of the following great apes: bonobo (Pan paniscus), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). Genomic variations in chromosome 19 among great apes, baboons and macaques as they relate to both genes for apoC-I and the pseudogene are compared and discussed.

Kinematics of the anthropoid os centrale and the functional consequences of scaphoid-centrale fusion in African apes and hominins.

PubMed

Orr, Caley M

2018-01-01

In most primates, the os centrale is interposed between the scaphoid, trapezoid, trapezium, and head of the capitate, thus constituting a component of the wrist's midcarpal complex. Scaphoid-centrale fusion is among the clearest morphological synapomorphies of African apes and hominins. Although it might facilitate knuckle-walking by increasing the rigidity and stability of the radial side of the wrist, the exact functional significance of scaphoid-centrale fusion is unclear. If fusion acts to produce a more rigid radial wrist that stabilizes the hand and limits shearing stresses, then in taxa with a free centrale, it should anchor ligaments that check extension and radial deviation, but exhibit motion independent of the scaphoid. Moreover, because the centrale sits between the scaphoid and capitate (a major stabilizing articulation), scaphoid-centrale mobility should correlate with scaphocapitate mobility in extension and radial deviation. To test these hypotheses, the centrale's ligamentous binding was investigated via dissection in Pongo and Papio, and the kinematics of the centrale were quantified in a cadaveric sample of anthropoids (Pongo sp., Ateles geoffroyi, Colobus guereza, Macaca mulatta, and Papio anubis) using a computed-tomography-based method to track wrist-bone motion. Results indicate that the centrale rotates freely relative to the scaphoid in all taxa. However, centrale mobility is only correlated with scaphocapitate mobility during extension in Pongo-possibly due to differences in overall wrist configuration between apes and monkeys. If an extant ape-like wrist characterized early ancestors of African apes and hominins, then scaphoid-centrale fusion would have increased midcarpal rigidity in extension relative to the primitive condition. Although biomechanically consistent with a knuckle-walking hominin ancestor, this assumes that the trait evolved specifically for that biological role, which must be squared with contradictory interpretations of extant and fossil hominoid morphology. Regardless of its original adaptive significance, scaphoid-centrale fusion likely presented a constraint on early hominin midcarpal mobility. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human and great ape red blood cells differ in plasmalogen levels and composition

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Plasmalogens are ether phospholipids required for normal mammalian developmental, physiological, and cognitive functions. They have been proposed to act as membrane antioxidants and reservoirs of polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as influence intracellular signaling and membrane dynamics. Plasmalogens are particularly enriched in cells and tissues of the human nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems. Humans with severely reduced plasmalogen levels have reduced life spans, abnormal neurological development, skeletal dysplasia, impaired respiration, and cataracts. Plasmalogen deficiency is also found in the brain tissue of individuals with Alzheimer disease. Results In a human and great ape cohort, we measured the red blood cell (RBC) levels of the most abundant types of plasmalogens. Total RBC plasmalogen levels were lower in humans than bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas, but higher than orangutans. There were especially pronounced cross-species differences in the levels of plasmalogens with a C16:0 moiety at the sn-1 position. Humans on Western or vegan diets had comparable total RBC plasmalogen levels, but the latter group showed moderately higher levels of plasmalogens with a C18:1 moiety at the sn-1 position. We did not find robust sex-specific differences in human or chimpanzee RBC plasmalogen levels or composition. Furthermore, human and great ape skin fibroblasts showed only modest differences in peroxisomal plasmalogen biosynthetic activity. Human and chimpanzee microarray data indicated that genes involved in plasmalogen biosynthesis show cross-species differential expression in multiple tissues. Conclusion We propose that the observed differences in human and great ape RBC plasmalogens are primarily caused by their rates of biosynthesis and/or turnover. Gene expression data raise the possibility that other human and great ape cells and tissues differ in plasmalogen levels. Based on the phenotypes of humans and rodents with plasmalogen disorders, we propose that cross-species differences in tissue plasmalogen levels could influence organ functions and processes ranging from cognition to reproduction to aging. PMID:21679470

Intestinal Flora Modification of Arthritis Pattern in Spondyloarthropathy.

PubMed

Rothschild, Bruce M

2015-09-01

The reactive form of spondyloarthropathy appears inducible by exposure to agents of infectious diarrhea, but do those organisms represent the tip of the iceberg, as indicated by renewed interest in gastrointestinal flora? Prevalence of spondyloarthropathy (20% of chimpanzees [Pan] and 28% of gorillas) is independent of subspecies and species, respectively. However, there are major differences in arthritis patterns, a characteristic shared with humans. Do patterns of arthritis correlate with gastrointestinal flora? Could such associated modifications be in the form of disease induction or represent protective effectors (at least against the extent of peripheral arthritis)? The skeletons of 2 chimpanzee subspecies (79 Pan troglodytes troglodytes and 26 Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and 2 gorilla species (99 Gorilla gorilla and 38 Gorilla beringei) adults were examined, and arthritis pattern noted. Feces of Eastern (P. schweinfurthii and G. beringei) and Western (great apes collected in their normal ranges) apes were assessed for 16S rRNA c and its character. Patterns of arthritis recognized on examination of skeletons showed geographic variation in skeletal distribution. East African apes (P. troglodytes schweinfurthii and G. beringei) had pauciarticular arthritis and frequent sacroiliac disease, whereas West African apes (P. troglodytes troglodytes and G. gorilla) had polyarticular peripheral joint disease with minimal sacroiliac involvement. DNA evidence revealed that Corynebactericeae were prominently represented in great apes with polyarticular disease, whereas Dietzia and Bifidobacterium exposure correlated with reduced peripheral joint arthritis distribution. Suggestions of a protective effect (in this case, limiting extent of peripheral arthritis, but not the disease itself) offered by these organisms are well represented by documented effects in other diseases (eg, tuberculosis) in the zoologic record. Perhaps it is this disease-modifying character that reduces the extent of the peripheral erosive disease, while increasing propensity to axial (sacroiliac) disease. A potential role for probiotic organisms in management of arthritis in humans is suggested, as has been documented for tuberculosis, gastrointestinal disorders, and food allergies.

Effect of Ply Orientation and Crack Location on SIFs in Finite Multilayers with Aligned Cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Linfeng; Pindera, Marek-Jerzy

2008-02-01

An exact elasticity solution is presented for arbitrarily laminated finite multilayers in a state of generalized plane deformation under horizontally pinned end constraints that are weakened by aligned cracks. Based on half-range Fourier series and the local/global stiffness matrix approach, the mixed boundary-value problem is reduced to Cauchy-type singular integral equations in the unknown displacement discontinuities. Solution to these equations is obtained using the approach developed by Erdogan and co-workers. Numerical results quantify the thus-far undocumented geometric and material effects on Mode I, II and III stress intensity factors in composite multilayers with interacting cracks under uniform vertical displacement. These effects include finite dimensions, crack location, material anisotropy due to a unidirectional fiber-reinforced layer/s orientation, and orientational grading.

Mesoscopic model for filament orientation in growing actin networks: the role of obstacle geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weichsel, Julian; Schwarz, Ulrich S.

2013-03-01

Propulsion by growing actin networks is a universal mechanism used in many different biological systems, ranging from the sheet-like lamellipodium of crawling animal cells to the actin comet tails induced by certain bacteria and viruses in order to move within their host cells. Although the core molecular machinery for actin network growth is well preserved in all of these cases, the geometry of the propelled obstacle varies considerably. During recent years, filament orientation distribution has emerged as an important observable characterizing the structure and dynamical state of the growing network. Here we derive several continuum equations for the orientation distribution of filaments growing behind stiff obstacles of various shapes and validate the predicted steady state orientation patterns by stochastic computer simulations based on discrete filaments. We use an ordinary differential equation approach to demonstrate that for flat obstacles of finite size, two fundamentally different orientation patterns peaked at either ±35° or +70°/0°/ - 70° exhibit mutually exclusive stability, in agreement with earlier results for flat obstacles of very large lateral extension. We calculate and validate phase diagrams as a function of model parameters and show how this approach can be extended to obstacles with piecewise straight contours. For curved obstacles, we arrive at a partial differential equation in the continuum limit, which again is in good agreement with the computer simulations. In all cases, we can identify the same two fundamentally different orientation patterns, but only within an appropriate reference frame, which is adjusted to the local orientation of the obstacle contour. Our results suggest that two fundamentally different network architectures compete with each other in growing actin networks, irrespective of obstacle geometry, and clarify how simulated and electron tomography data have to be analyzed for non-flat obstacle geometries.

The Integral Role of a Diabatic Rossby Vortex in a Heavy Snowfall Event

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

anomalies are identified: 1) a low-level anomaly to the east of the Appalachian Mountains associated with the incipient surface cyclone and 2) an upper-level...diagnostic eddy available potential energy ( APE ) equa- tion, one can gain insight into the relative importance of FIG. 4. As in Fig. 3, but at 0600 UTC 25...More specifically, the con- version ratio of the diabatic to baroclinic generation of eddy APE has been shown to be a useful diagnostic for

History of the TOW Missile System

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-10-01

pp. 1 .5 .4 & 1 .5 .5 . (2 ) L t r , DCG/LCS, I I C O M , t o CG, AMC, 29 Nar 65, s u b j : PEVA FY 65 APE P r o j AXMS 4220.X.32909...TOW). HDF. 3 8 ~ t r , C G , MICOM, t o CG, AMC, 23 J u l 65 , s u b j : PEVA FY 66 APE P r o j MCMS 4290.X.32947 (TOW). HDF. $1.7 m i l l

Why vocal production of atypical sounds in apes and its cerebral correlates have a lot to say about the origin of language.

PubMed

Meguerditchian, Adrien; Taglialatela, Jared P; Leavens, David A; Hopkins, William D

2014-12-01

Ackermann et al. mention the "acquisition of species-atypical sounds" in apes without any discussion. In our commentary, we demonstrate that these atypical sounds in chimpanzees not only include laryngeal sounds, but also have a major significance regarding the origins of language, if we consider looking at their context of use, their social properties, their relations with gestures, their lateralization, and their neurofunctional correlates as well.

The biology and evolution of music: a comparative perspective.

PubMed

Fitch, W Tecumseh

2006-05-01

Studies of the biology of music (as of language) are highly interdisciplinary and demand the integration of diverse strands of evidence. In this paper, I present a comparative perspective on the biology and evolution of music, stressing the value of comparisons both with human language, and with those animal communication systems traditionally termed "song". A comparison of the "design features" of music with those of language reveals substantial overlap, along with some important differences. Most of these differences appear to stem from semantic, rather than structural, factors, suggesting a shared formal core of music and language. I next review various animal communication systems that appear related to human music, either by analogy (bird and whale "song") or potential homology (great ape bimanual drumming). A crucial comparative distinction is between learned, complex signals (like language, music and birdsong) and unlearned signals (like laughter, ape calls, or bird calls). While human vocalizations clearly build upon an acoustic and emotional foundation shared with other primates and mammals, vocal learning has evolved independently in our species since our divergence with chimpanzees. The convergent evolution of vocal learning in other species offers a powerful window into psychological and neural constraints influencing the evolution of complex signaling systems (including both song and speech), while ape drumming presents a fascinating potential homology with human instrumental music. I next discuss the archeological data relevant to music evolution, concluding on the basis of prehistoric bone flutes that instrumental music is at least 40,000 years old, and perhaps much older. I end with a brief review of adaptive functions proposed for music, concluding that no one selective force (e.g., sexual selection) is adequate to explaining all aspects of human music. I suggest that questions about the past function of music are unlikely to be answered definitively and are thus a poor choice as a research focus for biomusicology. In contrast, a comparative approach to music promises rich dividends for our future understanding of the biology and evolution of music.

A neonatal perspective on Homo erectus brain growth.

PubMed

Cofran, Zachary; DeSilva, Jeremy M

2015-04-01

The Mojokerto calvaria has been central to assessment of brain growth in Homo erectus, but different analytical approaches and uncertainty in the specimen's age at death have hindered consensus on the nature of H. erectus brain growth. We simulate average annual rates (AR) of absolute endocranial volume (ECV) growth and proportional size change (PSC) in H. erectus, utilizing estimates of H. erectus neonatal ECV and a range of ages for Mojokerto. These values are compared with resampled ARs and PSCs from ontogenetic series of humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas from birth to six years. Results are consistent with other studies of ECV growth in extant taxa. There is extensive overlap in PSC between all living species through the first postnatal year, with continued but lesser overlap between humans and chimpanzees to age six. Human ARs are elevated above those of apes, although there is modest overlap up to 0.50 years. Ape ARs overlap throughout the sequence, with gorillas slightly elevated over chimpanzees up to 0.50 years. Simulated H. erectus PSCs can be found in all living species by 0.50 years, and the median falls below the human and chimpanzee ranges after 2.5 years. H. erectus ARs are elevated above those of all extant taxa prior to 0.50 years, and after two years they fall out of the human range but are still above ape ranges. A review of evidence for the age at death of Mojokerto supports an estimate of around one year, indicating absolute brain growth rates in the lower half of the human range. These results point to secondary altriciality in H. erectus, implying that key human adaptations for increasing the energy budget of females may have been established by at least 1 Ma. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

USAFA/8086 - A State of the Art Microprocessor System. Volume II. Software Documentation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

34 /* THE THREE FOLLOWING STRUCTU2RES APE NECESSARY TO MLLLO ThE OPERATING SYTEM TO HAVE INDIRECT ACCESS TL 41EMOP *. 13- ** _3_ -- - , -- K k"" , PijPL...FILLJ$ ERROR$ ONE IOPB CHECKER LINK$IN$ DIR$IN$ ABM $IN$ DATA$IN$ OUT OUT OUT OUT DisK86 MODUlE FiGuRE 8. DATA TRANSFER UTILITIE.S 62 In addition to...SUPPORT ROUTINES. Table 3 shows the functions of these routines. TABLE 3. SUPPORT PROCEDURES ROUTINE FUNCTION ABM $ZERO Makes a given sector on a

A defense in depth approach for nuclear power plant accident management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chih-Yao Hsieh; Hwai-Pwu Chou

2015-07-01

An initiating event may lead to a severe accident if the plant safety functions have been challenged or operators do not follow the appropriate accident management procedures. Beyond design basis accidents are those corresponding to events of very low occurrence probability but such an accident may lead to significant consequences. The defense in depth approach is important to assure nuclear safety even in a severe accident. Plant Damage States (PDS) can be defined by the combination of the possible values for each of the PDS parameters which are showed on the nuclear power plant simulator. PDS is used to identifymore » what the initiating event is, and can also give the information of safety system's status whether they are bypassed, inoperable or not. Initiating event and safety system's status are used in the construction of Containment Event Tree (CET) to determine containment failure modes by using probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) technique. Different initiating events will correspond to different CETs. With these CETs, the core melt frequency of an initiating event can be found. The use of Plant Damage States (PDS) is a symptom-oriented approach. On the other hand, the use of Containment Event Tree (CET) is an event-oriented approach. In this study, the Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plants, the Lungmen nuclear power station (LNPS), which is an advanced boiling water reactor (ABWR) with fully digitized instrumentation and control (I and C) system is chosen as the target plant. The LNPS full scope engineering simulator is used to generate the testing data for method development. The following common initiating events are considered in this study: loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), total loss of feedwater (TLOFW), loss of offsite power (LOOP), station blackout (SBO). Studies have indicated that the combination of the symptom-oriented approach and the event-oriented approach can be helpful to find mitigation strategies and is useful for the accident management. (authors)« less

A Framework for Understanding Young Children with Severe Multiple Disabilities: The van Dijk Approach to Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Catherine; van Dijk, Jan; McDonnell, Andrea P.; Thompson, Kristina

2002-01-01

This article describes a framework for assessing young children with severe multiple disabilities. The assessment is child-led and examines underlying processes of learning, including biobehavioral state, orienting response, learning channels, approach-withdrawal, memory, interactions, communication, and problem solving. Case studies and a sample…

"Giving" and "responding" differences in gestural communication between nonhuman great ape mothers and infants.

PubMed

Schneider, Christel; Liebal, Katja; Call, Josep

2017-04-01

In the first comparative analysis of its kind, we investigated gesture behavior and response patterns in 25 captive ape mother-infant dyads (six bonobos, eight chimpanzees, three gorillas, and eight orangutans). We examined (i) how frequently mothers and infants gestured to each other and to other group members; and (ii) to what extent infants and mothers responded to the gestural attempts of others. Our findings confirmed the hypothesis that bonobo mothers were more proactive in their gesturing to their infants than the other species. Yet mothers (from all four species) often did not respond to the gestures of their infants and other group members. In contrast, infants "pervasively" responded to gestures they received from their mothers and other group members. We propose that infants' pervasive responsiveness rather than the quality of mother investment and her responsiveness may be crucial to communication development in nonhuman great apes. © 2017 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Wetlands or aquatic ape? Availability of food resources.

PubMed

Ellis, D V

1993-01-01

A human evolutionary scenario including an ape inhabiting marine wetlands is rational in a number of contexts. The concept is viable ecologically due to the availability of abundant animal foods in a variety of habitats ranging from mangrove forests to coral reefs. The food resources include mollusks, crustacea and fish abundant in wet zones and pools between high and low tide levels. There is seasonal abundance of swarming marsh insects, turtles, eggs and chicks of colonial birds, and occasional beached and dying marine mammals. Some of these foods would provide an enriched source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids needed for brain development, and thus allow a spiral of increasing brain development, tool utilisation for better food gathering, and vocal communication for group action. The concept is viable also in terms of availability of the ape-human stock in the African Rift Valley, isolated from montane forests during the late Pliocene, and as an adaptive explanation for many of the species-specific human characters not found in other ground living primates.

Gibbon genome and the fast karyotype evolution of small apes.

PubMed

Carbone, Lucia; Harris, R Alan; Gnerre, Sante; Veeramah, Krishna R; Lorente-Galdos, Belen; Huddleston, John; Meyer, Thomas J; Herrero, Javier; Roos, Christian; Aken, Bronwen; Anaclerio, Fabio; Archidiacono, Nicoletta; Baker, Carl; Barrell, Daniel; Batzer, Mark A; Beal, Kathryn; Blancher, Antoine; Bohrson, Craig L; Brameier, Markus; Campbell, Michael S; Capozzi, Oronzo; Casola, Claudio; Chiatante, Giorgia; Cree, Andrew; Damert, Annette; de Jong, Pieter J; Dumas, Laura; Fernandez-Callejo, Marcos; Flicek, Paul; Fuchs, Nina V; Gut, Ivo; Gut, Marta; Hahn, Matthew W; Hernandez-Rodriguez, Jessica; Hillier, LaDeana W; Hubley, Robert; Ianc, Bianca; Izsvák, Zsuzsanna; Jablonski, Nina G; Johnstone, Laurel M; Karimpour-Fard, Anis; Konkel, Miriam K; Kostka, Dennis; Lazar, Nathan H; Lee, Sandra L; Lewis, Lora R; Liu, Yue; Locke, Devin P; Mallick, Swapan; Mendez, Fernando L; Muffato, Matthieu; Nazareth, Lynne V; Nevonen, Kimberly A; O'Bleness, Majesta; Ochis, Cornelia; Odom, Duncan T; Pollard, Katherine S; Quilez, Javier; Reich, David; Rocchi, Mariano; Schumann, Gerald G; Searle, Stephen; Sikela, James M; Skollar, Gabriella; Smit, Arian; Sonmez, Kemal; ten Hallers, Boudewijn; Terhune, Elizabeth; Thomas, Gregg W C; Ullmer, Brygg; Ventura, Mario; Walker, Jerilyn A; Wall, Jeffrey D; Walter, Lutz; Ward, Michelle C; Wheelan, Sarah J; Whelan, Christopher W; White, Simon; Wilhelm, Larry J; Woerner, August E; Yandell, Mark; Zhu, Baoli; Hammer, Michael F; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Eichler, Evan E; Fulton, Lucinda; Fronick, Catrina; Muzny, Donna M; Warren, Wesley C; Worley, Kim C; Rogers, Jeffrey; Wilson, Richard K; Gibbs, Richard A

2014-09-11

Gibbons are small arboreal apes that display an accelerated rate of evolutionary chromosomal rearrangement and occupy a key node in the primate phylogeny between Old World monkeys and great apes. Here we present the assembly and analysis of a northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) genome. We describe the propensity for a gibbon-specific retrotransposon (LAVA) to insert into chromosome segregation genes and alter transcription by providing a premature termination site, suggesting a possible molecular mechanism for the genome plasticity of the gibbon lineage. We further show that the gibbon genera (Nomascus, Hylobates, Hoolock and Symphalangus) experienced a near-instantaneous radiation ∼5 million years ago, coincident with major geographical changes in southeast Asia that caused cycles of habitat compression and expansion. Finally, we identify signatures of positive selection in genes important for forelimb development (TBX5) and connective tissues (COL1A1) that may have been involved in the adaptation of gibbons to their arboreal habitat.

Mirror-Induced Behavior in the Magpie (Pica pica): Evidence of Self-Recognition

PubMed Central

Prior, Helmut; Schwarz, Ariane; Güntürkün, Onur

2008-01-01

Comparative studies suggest that at least some bird species have evolved mental skills similar to those found in humans and apes. This is indicated by feats such as tool use, episodic-like memory, and the ability to use one's own experience in predicting the behavior of conspecifics. It is, however, not yet clear whether these skills are accompanied by an understanding of the self. In apes, self-directed behavior in response to a mirror has been taken as evidence of self-recognition. We investigated mirror-induced behavior in the magpie, a songbird species from the crow family. As in apes, some individuals behaved in front of the mirror as if they were testing behavioral contingencies. When provided with a mark, magpies showed spontaneous mark-directed behavior. Our findings provide the first evidence of mirror self-recognition in a non-mammalian species. They suggest that essential components of human self-recognition have evolved independently in different vertebrate classes with a separate evolutionary history. PMID:18715117

The bonobo genome compared with the chimpanzee and human genomes

PubMed Central

Prüfer, Kay; Munch, Kasper; Hellmann, Ines; Akagi, Keiko; Miller, Jason R.; Walenz, Brian; Koren, Sergey; Sutton, Granger; Kodira, Chinnappa; Winer, Roger; Knight, James R.; Mullikin, James C.; Meader, Stephen J.; Ponting, Chris P.; Lunter, Gerton; Higashino, Saneyuki; Hobolth, Asger; Dutheil, Julien; Karakoç, Emre; Alkan, Can; Sajjadian, Saba; Catacchio, Claudia Rita; Ventura, Mario; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Eichler, Evan E.; André, Claudine; Atencia, Rebeca; Mugisha, Lawrence; Junhold, Jörg; Patterson, Nick; Siebauer, Michael; Good, Jeffrey M.; Fischer, Anne; Ptak, Susan E.; Lachmann, Michael; Symer, David E.; Mailund, Thomas; Schierup, Mikkel H.; Andrés, Aida M.; Kelso, Janet; Pääbo, Svante

2012-01-01

Two African apes are the closest living relatives of humans: the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the bonobo (Pan paniscus). Although they are similar in many respects, bonobos and chimpanzees differ strikingly in key social and sexual behaviours1–4, and for some of these traits they show more similarity with humans than with each other. Here we report the sequencing and assembly of the bonobo genome to study its evolutionary relationship with the chimpanzee and human genomes. We find that more than three per cent of the human genome is more closely related to either the bonobo or the chimpanzee genome than these are to each other. These regions allow various aspects of the ancestry of the two ape species to be reconstructed. In addition, many of the regions that overlap genes may eventually help us understand the genetic basis of phenotypes that humans share with one of the two apes to the exclusion of the other. PMID:22722832

Phylogenetic relations of humans and African apes from DNA sequences in the Psi eta-globin region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miyamoto, M.M.; Slightom, J.L.; Goodman, M.

Sequences from the upstream and downstream flanking DNA regions of the Psi eta-globin locus in Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzee), Gorilla gorilla (gorilla), and Pongo pygmaeus (orangutan, the closest living relative to Homo, Pan, and Gorilla) provided further data for evaluating the phylogenetic relations of humans and African apes. These newly sequenced orthologs (an additional 4.9 kilobase pairs (kbp) for each species) were combined with published Psi eta-gene sequences and then compared to the same orthologous stretch (a continuous 7.1-kbp region) available for humans. Phylogenetic analysis of these nucleotide sequences by the parsimony method indicated (i) that human and chimpanzee aremore » more closely related to each other than either is to gorilla and (ii) that the slowdown in the rate of sequence evolution evident in higher primates is especially pronounced in humans. These results indicate that features unique to African apes (but not to humans) are primitive and that even local molecular clocks should be applied with caution.« less

Detection of Termites and Other Insects Consumed by African Great Apes using Molecular Fecal Analysis

PubMed Central

Hamad, Ibrahim; Delaporte, Eric; Raoult, Didier; Bittar, Fadi

2014-01-01

The consumption of insects by apes has previously been reported based on direct observations and/or trail signs in feces. However, DNA-based diet analyses may have the potential to reveal trophic links for these wild species. Herein, we analyzed the insect-diet diversity of 9 feces obtained from three species of African great apes, gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and bonobo (Pan paniscus), using two mitochondrial amplifications for arthropods. A total of 1056 clones were sequenced for Cyt-b and COI gene libraries, which contained 50 and 56 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), respectively. BLAST research revealed that the OTUs belonged to 32 families from 5 orders (Diptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Orthoptera). While ants were not detected by this method, the consumption of flies, beetles, moths, mosquitoes and termites was evident in these samples. Our findings indicate that molecular techniques can be used to analyze insect food items in wild animals. PMID:24675424

Token transfers among great apes (Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, Pan paniscus, and Pan troglodytes): species differences, gestural requests, and reciprocal exchange.

PubMed

Pelé, Marie; Dufour, Valérie; Thierry, Bernard; Call, Josep

2009-11-01

Great apes appear to be the nonhuman primates most capable of recognizing trading opportunities and engaging in transfers of commodities with conspecifics. Spontaneous exchange of goods between them has not yet been reported. We tested gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), bonobos (Pan paniscus), and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a token-exchange task involving two conspecifics and a human experimenter. Tested in pairs, subjects had to exchange tokens with a partner to obtain food from the experimenter. We observed 4, 5, 264, and 328 transfers of tokens in gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos, respectively. Most gifts were indirect in gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, whereas most were direct in orangutans. The analysis showed no evidence of calculated reciprocity in interactions. A main finding of the study was the high rate of repeated gifts and begging gestures recorded in orangutans. This raises the question of the meaning of pointing in great apes and their ability to understand the communicative intent of others.

Fabrication of single crystalline stripe in Si and Ge film on rolled flexible glass substrate by UV cw micro-chevron laser beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, Wenchang

2017-08-01

Micro chevron laser beam annealing (μCLBA) of Si film and Ge film were introduced. Single crystal stripe with a dimension of several tens to hundreds μm in length and 3-8μm in width was formed in Si film or Ge film by scanning μCLBA over the film. Main boundaries in the c-Si stripe were Σ3 CSL twin boundary. Scanning speed of micro linear laser beam annealing (μLLBA) was varied from 0.05 m/s to 8m/s to investigate its influence to crystallinity. Even at 8m/s lateral growth taken place, however, crystal quality was better for slower lateral growth. Crystallization area per energy (APE) of μLLBA was evaluated and compared with other methods. It was found APE of μLLBA was larger than other method, especially for a display with low fill factor of TFT, APE can be several orders of magnitude larger.

APES: Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer - A High Time Resolution Monodirectional Magnetic Deflection Electron Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Michell, R. G.; Samara, M.; Grubbs, G., II; Ogasawara, K.; Miller, G.; Trevino, J. A.; Webster, J.; Stange, J.

2016-01-01

We present a description of the Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer (APES) that was designed and built for the Ground-to-Rocket Electron Electrodynamics Correlative Experiment (GREECE) auroral sounding rocket mission. The purpose was to measure the precipitating electron spectrum with high time resolution, on the order of milliseconds. The trade-off made in order to achieve high time resolution was to limit the aperture to only one look direction. The energy selection was done by using a permanent magnet to separate the incoming electrons, such that the different energies would fall onto different regions of the microchannel plate and therefore be detected by different anodes. A rectangular microchannel plate (MCP) was used (15 mm x 100 mm), and there was a total of 50 discrete anodes under the MCP, each one 15 mm x 1.5 mm, with a 0.5 mm spacing between anodes. The target energy range of APES was 200 eV to 30 keV.