Commentary: Ethics, animals and the nonhuman great apes

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2006-11-13

, animals and the nonhuman great apes. Paola Cavalieri. Volume 31 Issue 5 December 2006 pp 509-512. Fulltext. Click here to view fulltext PDF. Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/031/05/0509-0512 ...

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

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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.

Intuitive optics: what great apes infer from mirrors and shadows.

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Völter, Christoph J; Call, Josep

2018-05-02

There is ongoing debate about the extent to which nonhuman animals, like humans, can go beyond first-order perceptual information to abstract structural information from their environment. To provide more empirical evidence regarding this question, we examined what type of information great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans) gain from optical effects such as shadows and mirror images. In an initial experiment, we investigated whether apes would use mirror images and shadows to locate hidden food. We found that all examined ape species used these cues to find the food. Follow-up experiments showed that apes neither confused these optical effects with the food rewards nor did they merely associate cues with food. First, naïve chimpanzees used the shadow of the hidden food to locate it but they did not learn within the same number of trials to use a perceptually similar rubber patch as indicator of the hidden food reward. Second, apes made use of the mirror images to estimate the distance of the hidden food from their own body. Depending on the distance, apes either pointed into the direction of the food or tried to access the hidden food directly. Third, apes showed some sensitivity to the geometrical relation between mirror orientation and mirrored objects when searching hidden food. Fourth, apes tended to interpret mirror images and pictures of these mirror images differently depending on their prior knowledge. Together, these findings suggest that apes are sensitive to the optical relation between mirror images and shadows and their physical referents.

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

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David Buttelmann

Full Text Available 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 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE RELATING TO CAPTIVE GREAT APE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.

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Strong, Victoria J; Grindlay, Douglas; Redrobe, Sharon; Cobb, Malcolm; White, Kate

2016-09-01

Wild bonobos (Pan paniscus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo abelii) are threatened with extinction. In order to help maintain a self-sustaining zoo population, clinicians require a sound understanding of the diseases with which they might be presented. To provide an up-to-date perspective on great ape morbidity and mortality, a systematic review of the zoological and veterinary literature of great apes from 1990 to 2014 was conducted. This is the first review of the great ape literature published since 1990 and the first-ever systematic literature review of great ape morbidity and mortality. The following databases were searched for relevant articles: CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS Citation Index, BIOSIS Previews, Current Contents Connect, Data Citation Index, Derwent Innovations Index, MEDLINE, SciELO Citation Index, and Zoological Record. A total of 189 articles reporting on the causes of morbidity and mortality among captive great apes were selected and divided into comparative morbidity-mortality studies and case reports-series or single-disease prevalence studies. The content and main findings of the morbidity-mortality studies were reviewed and the main limitations identified. The case reports-case series and single-disease prevalence studies were categorized and coded according to taxa, etiology, and body system. Subsequent analysis allowed the amount of literature coverage afforded to each category to be calculated and the main diseases and disorders reported within the literature to be identified. This review concludes that reports of idiopathic and infectious diseases along with disorders of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal body systems were particularly prominent within the great ape literature during 1990-2014. However, recent and accurate prevalence figures are lacking and there are flaws in those reviews that do exist. There is

Enamel hypoplasia in the deciduous teeth of great apes: variation in prevalence and timing of defects.

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Lukacs, J R

2001-11-01

The prevalence of enamel hypoplasia in the deciduous teeth of great apes has the potential to reveal episodes of physiological stress in early stages of ontogenetic development. However, little is known about enamel defects of deciduous teeth in great apes. Unresolved questions addressed in this study are: Do hypoplastic enamel defects occur with equal frequency in different groups of great apes? Are enamel hypoplasias more prevalent in the deciduous teeth of male or female apes? During what phase of dental development do enamel defects tend to form? And, what part of the dental crown is most commonly affected? To answer these questions, infant and juvenile skulls of two sympatric genera of great apes (Gorilla and Pan) were examined for dental enamel hypoplasias. Specimens from the Powell-Cotton Museum (Quex Park, UK; n = 107) are reported here, and compared with prior findings based on my examination of juvenile apes at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Hamman-Todd Collection; n = 100) and Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of Natural History; n = 36). All deciduous teeth were examined by the author with a x10 hand lens, in oblique incandescent light. Defects were classified using Fédération Dentaire International (FDI)/Defects of Dental Enamel (DDE) standards; defect size and location on the tooth crown were measured and marked on dental outline charts. Enamel defects of ape deciduous teeth are most common on the labial surface of canine teeth. While deciduous incisor and molar teeth consistently exhibit similar defects with prevalences of approximately 10%, canines average between 70-75%. Position of enamel defects on the canine crown was analyzed by dividing it into three zones (apical, middle, and cervical) and calculating defect prevalence by zone. Among gorillas, enamel hypoplasia prevalence increases progressively from the apical zone (low) to the middle zone to the cervical zone (highest), in both maxillary and mandibular canine teeth

Estimation of the ancestral effective population sizes of African great apes under different selection regimes.

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Schrago, Carlos G

2014-08-01

Reliable estimates of ancestral effective population sizes are necessary to unveil the population-level phenomena that shaped the phylogeny and molecular evolution of the African great apes. Although several methods have previously been applied to infer ancestral effective population sizes, an analysis of the influence of the selective regime on the estimates of ancestral demography has not been thoroughly conducted. In this study, three independent data sets under different selective regimes were used were composed to tackle this issue. The results showed that selection had a significant impact on the estimates of ancestral effective population sizes of the African great apes. The inference of the ancestral demography of African great apes was affected by the selection regime. The effects, however, were not homogeneous along the ancestral populations of great apes. The effective population size of the ancestor of humans and chimpanzees was more impacted by the selection regime when compared to the same parameter in the ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas. Because the selection regime influenced the estimates of ancestral effective population size, it is reasonable to assume that a portion of the discrepancy found in previous studies that inferred the ancestral effective population size may be attributable to the differential action of selection on the genes sampled.

Seasonal effects on great ape health: a case study of wild chimpanzees and Western gorillas.

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Shelly Masi

Full Text Available 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

Dynamics of DNA methylation in recent human and great ape evolution.

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Irene Hernando-Herraez

Full Text Available DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification involved in regulatory processes such as cell differentiation during development, X-chromosome inactivation, genomic imprinting and susceptibility to complex disease. However, the dynamics of DNA methylation changes between humans and their closest relatives are still poorly understood. We performed a comparative analysis of CpG methylation patterns between 9 humans and 23 primate samples including all species of great apes (chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla and orangutan using Illumina Methylation450 bead arrays. Our analysis identified ∼800 genes with significantly altered methylation patterns among the great apes, including ∼170 genes with a methylation pattern unique to human. Some of these are known to be involved in developmental and neurological features, suggesting that epigenetic changes have been frequent during recent human and primate evolution. We identified a significant positive relationship between the rate of coding variation and alterations of methylation at the promoter level, indicative of co-occurrence between evolution of protein sequence and gene regulation. In contrast, and supporting the idea that many phenotypic differences between humans and great apes are not due to amino acid differences, our analysis also identified 184 genes that are perfectly conserved at protein level between human and chimpanzee, yet show significant epigenetic differences between these two species. We conclude that epigenetic alterations are an important force during primate evolution and have been under-explored in evolutionary comparative genomics.

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

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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.

Human and great ape red blood cells differ in plasmalogen levels and composition.

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Moser, Ann B; Steinberg, Steven J; Watkins, Paul A; Moser, Hugo W; Ramaswamy, Krishna; Siegmund, Kimberly D; Lee, D Rick; Ely, John J; Ryder, Oliver A; Hacia, Joseph G

2011-06-17

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. 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. 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

Identification of differences in human and great ape phytanic acid metabolism that could influence gene expression profiles and physiological functions

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Siegmund Kimberly D

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background It has been proposed that anatomical differences in human and great ape guts arose in response to species-specific diets and energy demands. To investigate functional genomic consequences of these differences, we compared their physiological levels of phytanic acid, a branched chain fatty acid that can be derived from the microbial degradation of chlorophyll in ruminant guts. Humans who accumulate large stores of phytanic acid commonly develop cerebellar ataxia, peripheral polyneuropathy, and retinitis pigmentosa in addition to other medical conditions. Furthermore, phytanic acid is an activator of the PPAR-alpha transcription factor that influences the expression of genes relevant to lipid metabolism. Results Despite their trace dietary phytanic acid intake, all great ape species had elevated red blood cell (RBC phytanic acid levels relative to humans on diverse diets. Unlike humans, chimpanzees showed sexual dimorphism in RBC phytanic acid levels, which were higher in males relative to females. Cultured skin fibroblasts from all species had a robust capacity to degrade phytanic acid. We provide indirect evidence that great apes, in contrast to humans, derive significant amounts of phytanic acid from the hindgut fermentation of plant materials. This would represent a novel reduction of metabolic activity in humans relative to the great apes. Conclusion We identified differences in the physiological levels of phytanic acid in humans and great apes and propose this is causally related to their gut anatomies and microbiomes. Phytanic acid levels could contribute to cross-species and sex-specific differences in human and great ape transcriptomes, especially those related to lipid metabolism. Based on the medical conditions caused by phytanic acid accumulation, we suggest that differences in phytanic acid metabolism could influence the functions of human and great ape nervous, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Human and great ape red blood cells differ in plasmalogen levels and composition

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Ely John J

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract 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

Evolutionary pattern of mutation in the factor IX genes of great apes: How does it compare to the pattern of recent germline mutation in patients with hemophilia B?

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Grouse, L.H.; Ketterling, R.P.; Sommer, S.S. [Mayo Clinic/Foundation, Rochester, MN (United States)

1994-09-01

Most mutations causing hemophilia B have arisen within the past 150 years. By correcting for multiple biases, the underlying rates of spontaneous germline mutation have been estimated in the factor IX gene. From these rates, an underlying pattern of mutation has emerged. To determine if this pattern compares to a underlying pattern found in the great apes, sequence changes were determined in intronic regions of the factor IX gene. The following species were studied: Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee), Pongo pygmacus (orangutan) and Homo sapiens. Intronic sequences at least 200 bp from a splice junction were randomly chosen, amplified by cross-species PCR, and sequenced. These regions are expected to be subject to little if any selective pressure. Early diverged species of Old World monkeys were also studied to help determine the direction of mutational changes. A total of 62 sequence changes were observed. Initial data suggest that the average pattern since evolution of the great apes has a paucity of transitions at CpG dinucleotides and an excess of microinsertions to microdeletions when compared to the pattern observed in humans during the past 150 years (p<.05). A larger study is in progress to confirm these results.

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

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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.

Enamel hypoplasia in deciduous teeth of great apes: do differences in defect prevalence imply differential levels of physiological stress?

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Lukacs, J R

1999-11-01

This paper presents new data on enamel hypoplasia in the deciduous canine teeth of great apes. The enamel defect under consideration is known as localized hypoplasia of primary canines (LHPC), and is characterized by an area of thin or missing enamel on the labial surface of deciduous canine teeth (Skinner [1986a] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 69:59-69). Goals of this study are: 1) to determine if significant differences in the frequency of LHPC occur among three genera of great apes, and 2) to evaluate variation in LHPC prevalence among great apes as evidence of differential physiological stress. Infant and juvenile apes with deciduous teeth were examined at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (n = 100) and at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (n = 36). Deciduous teeth were observed under oblique incandescent light, with the naked eye and with a 10x hand lens. Enamel hypoplasia was scored using Federation Dentaire International (FDI)-Defects of Dental Enamel (DDE) standards. Hypoplasias were recorded by drawing defect location and size on a dental chart, and by measuring defect size and location with Helios needlepoint dial calipers. The prevalence of LHPC is reported by genus and sex, using two approaches: 1) the frequency of affected individuals-those having one or more deciduous canine teeth scored positive for LHPC; and 2) the number of canine teeth scored positive for LHPC as a percentage of all canine teeth observed. Variation in defect size and location will be described elsewhere. Localized hypoplasia of primary canine teeth was found in 62.5% of 128 individual apes, and in 45.5% of 398 great ape deciduous canines. As in humans, LHPC is the most common form of enamel hypoplasia in deciduous teeth of great apes, while LEH is rare or absent. The distribution and pattern of expression of LHPC in great apes is similar to that described in humans: side differences are not significant, but mandibular canines exhibit the defect two to

The strength of great apes and the speed of humans.

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Walker, Alan

2009-04-01

Cliff Jolly developed a causal model of human origins in his paper "The Seed-Eaters," published in 1970. He was one of the first to attempt this, and the paper has since become a classic. I do not have such grand goals; instead, I seek to understand a major difference between the living great apes and humans. More than 50 years ago, Maynard Smith and Savage (1956) showed that the musculoskeletal systems of mammals can be adapted for strength at one extreme and speed at the other but not both. Great apes are adapted for strength--chimpanzees have been shown to be about four times as strong as fit young humans when normalized for body size. The corresponding speed that human limb systems gain at the expense of power is critical for effective human activities such as running, throwing, and manipulation, including tool making. The fossil record can shed light on when the change from power to speed occurred. I outline a hypothesis that suggests that the difference in muscular performance between the two species is caused by chimpanzees having many fewer small motor units than humans, which leads them, in turn, to contract more muscle fibers earlier in any particular task. I outline a histological test of this hypothesis.

Detection of Termites and Other Insects Consumed by African Great Apes using Molecular Fecal Analysis

OpenAIRE

Ibrahim Hamad; Eric Delaporte; Didier Raoult; Fadi Bittar

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 c...

Common Visual Preference for Curved Contours in Humans and Great Apes.

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Munar, Enric; Gómez-Puerto, Gerardo; Call, Josep; Nadal, Marcos

2015-01-01

Among the visual preferences that guide many everyday activities and decisions, from consumer choices to social judgment, preference for curved over sharp-angled contours is commonly thought to have played an adaptive role throughout human evolution, favoring the avoidance of potentially harmful objects. However, because nonhuman primates also exhibit preferences for certain visual qualities, it is conceivable that humans' preference for curved contours is grounded on perceptual and cognitive mechanisms shared with extant nonhuman primate species. Here we aimed to determine whether nonhuman great apes and humans share a visual preference for curved over sharp-angled contours using a 2-alternative forced choice experimental paradigm under comparable conditions. Our results revealed that the human group and the great ape group indeed share a common preference for curved over sharp-angled contours, but that they differ in the manner and magnitude with which this preference is expressed behaviorally. These results suggest that humans' visual preference for curved objects evolved from earlier primate species' visual preferences, and that during this process it became stronger, but also more susceptible to the influence of higher cognitive processes and preference for other visual features.

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

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

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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.

Strong selective sweeps associated with ampliconic regions in great ape X chromosomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nam, Kiwoong; Munch, Kasper; Hobolth, Asger

2014-01-01

The unique inheritance pattern of X chromosomes makes them preferential targets of adaptive evolution. We here investigate natural selection on the X chromosome in all species of great apes. We find that diversity is more strongly reduced around genes on the X compared with autosomes...... with ampliconic sequences we propose that intra-genomic conflict between the X and the Y chromosomes is a major driver of X chromosome evolution....

Do Great Apes Use Emotional Expressions to Infer Desires?

Science.gov (United States)

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…

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Enamel biorhythms of humans and great apes: the Havers-Halberg Oscillation hypothesis reconsidered.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, Patrick; Miszkiewicz, Justyna J; Pitfield, Rosie; Deter, Chris; Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie

2017-02-01

The Havers-Halberg Oscillation (HHO) hypothesis links evidence for the timing of a biorhythm retained in permanent tooth enamel (Retzius periodicity) to adult body mass and life history traits across mammals. Potentially, these links provide a way to access life history of fossil species from teeth. Recently we assessed intra-specific predictions of the HHO on human children. We reported Retzius periodicity (RP) corresponded with enamel thickness, and cusp formation time, when calculated from isolated deciduous teeth. We proposed the biorhythm might not remain constant within an individual. Here, we test our findings. RP is compared between deciduous second and permanent first molars within the maxillae of four human children. Following this, we report the first RPs for deciduous teeth from modern great apes (n = 4), and compare these with new data for permanent teeth (n = 18) from these species, as well as with previously published values. We also explore RP in teeth that retain hypoplastic defects. Results show RP changed within the maxilla of each child, from thinner to thicker enameled molars, and from one side of a hypoplastic defect to the other. When considered alongside correlations between RP and cusp formation time, these observations provide further evidence that RP is associated with enamel growth processes and does not always remain constant within an individual. RP of 5 days for great ape deciduous teeth lay below the lowermost range of those from permanent teeth of modern orangutan and gorilla, and within the lowermost range of RPs from chimpanzee permanent teeth. Our data suggest associations between RP and enamel growth processes of humans might extend to great apes. These findings provide a new framework from which to develop the HHO hypothesis, which can incorporate enamel growth along with other physiological systems. Applications of the HHO to fossil teeth should avoid transferring RP between deciduous and permanent enamel, or including

Primatology. Human diseases threaten great apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferber, D

2000-08-25

Researchers are uncovering disturbing evidence that scientists and tourists are infecting wild primates with human pathogens. In response, ape specialists, including the American Society of Primatologists, are now calling for stricter health standards for researchers and tourists. They are also urging researchers to learn how to diagnose disease in their study animals.

Quantifying temporal bone morphology of great apes and humans: an approach using geometric morphometrics

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Charles A; Lynch, John M; Kimbel, William H

2002-01-01

The hominid temporal bone offers a complex array of morphology that is linked to several different functional systems. Its frequent preservation in the fossil record gives the temporal bone added significance in the study of human evolution, but its morphology has proven difficult to quantify. In this study we use techniques of 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify differences among humans and great apes and discuss the results in a phylogenetic context. Twenty-three landmarks on the ectocranial surface of the temporal bone provide a high level of anatomical detail. Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA) is used to register (adjust for position, orientation and scale) landmark data from 405 adults representing Homo, Pan, Gorilla and Pongo. Principal components analysis of residuals from the GPA shows that the major source of variation is between humans and apes. Human characteristics such as a coronally orientated petrous axis, a deep mandibular fossa, a projecting mastoid process, and reduced lateral extension of the tympanic element strongly impact the analysis. In phenetic cluster analyses, gorillas and orangutans group together with respect to chimpanzees, and all apes group together with respect to humans. Thus, the analysis contradicts depictions of African apes as a single morphotype. Gorillas and orangutans lack the extensive preglenoid surface of chimpanzees, and their mastoid processes are less medially inflected. These and other characters shared by gorillas and orangutans are probably primitive for the African hominid clade. PMID:12489757

Incremental distribution of strontium and zinc in great ape and fossil hominin cementum using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Christopher; Le Cabec, Adeline; Spiers, Kathryn; Zhang, Yi; Garrevoet, Jan

2018-01-01

Cementum and the incremental markings it contains have been widely studied as a means of ageing animals and retrieving information about diet and nutrition. The distribution of trace elements in great ape and fossil hominin cementum has not been studied previously. Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) enables rapid scanning of large tissue areas with high resolution of elemental distributions. First, we used SXRF to map calcium, phosphorus, strontium and zinc distributions in great ape dentine and cementum. At higher resolution, we compared zinc and strontium distributions in cellular and acellular cementum in regions where clear incremental markings were expressed. We then mapped trace element distributions in fossil hominin dentine and cementum from the 1.55-1.65 million year old site of Koobi Fora, Kenya. Zinc, in particular, is a precise marker of cementum increments in great apes, and is retained in fossil hominin cementum, but does not correspond well with the more diffuse fluctuations observed in strontium distribution. Cementum is unusual among mineralized tissues in retaining so much zinc. This is known to reduce the acid solubility of hydroxyapatite and so may confer resistance to resorption by osteoclasts in the dynamic remodelling environment of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. © 2018 The Author(s).

A new species of great ape from the late Miocene epoch in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Suwa, Gen; Kono, Reiko T; Katoh, Shigehiro; Asfaw, Berhane; Beyene, Yonas

2007-08-23

With the discovery of Ardipithecus, Orrorin and Sahelanthropus, our knowledge of hominid evolution before the emergence of Pliocene species of Australopithecus has significantly increased, extending the hominid fossil record back to at least 6 million years (Myr) ago. However, because of the dearth of fossil hominoid remains in sub-Saharan Africa spanning the period 12-7 Myr ago, nothing is known of the actual timing and mode of divergence of the African ape and hominid lineages. Most genomic-based studies suggest a late divergence date-5-6 Myr ago and 6-8 Myr ago for the human-chimp and human-gorilla splits, respectively-and some palaeontological and molecular analyses hypothesize a Eurasian origin of the African ape and hominid clade. We report here the discovery and recognition of a new species of great ape, Chororapithecus abyssinicus, from the 10-10.5-Myr-old deposits of the Chorora Formation at the southern margin of the Afar rift. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first fossils of a large-bodied Miocene ape from the African continent north of Kenya. They exhibit a gorilla-sized dentition that combines distinct shearing crests with thick enamel on its 'functional' side cusps. Visualization of the enamel-dentine junction by micro-computed tomography reveals shearing crest features that partly resemble the modern gorilla condition. These features represent genetically based structural modifications probably associated with an initial adaptation to a comparatively fibrous diet. The relatively flat cuspal enamel-dentine junction and thick enamel, however, suggest a concurrent adaptation to hard and/or abrasive food items. The combined evidence suggests that Chororapithecus may be a basal member of the gorilla clade, and that the latter exhibited some amount of adaptive and phyletic diversity at around 10-11 Myr ago.

Natural Selection in the Great Apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cagan, Alexander; Theunert, Christoph; Laayouni, Hafid; Santpere, Gabriel; Pybus, Marc; Casals, Ferran; Prüfer, Kay; Navarro, Arcadi; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Andrés, Aida M

2016-12-01

Natural selection is crucial for the adaptation of populations to their environments. Here, we present the first global study of natural selection in the Hominidae (humans and great apes) based on genome-wide information from population samples representing all extant species (including most subspecies). Combining several neutrality tests we create a multi-species map of signatures of natural selection covering all major types of natural selection. We find that the estimated efficiency of both purifying and positive selection varies between species and is significantly correlated with their long-term effective population size. Thus, even the modest differences in population size among the closely related Hominidae lineages have resulted in differences in their ability to remove deleterious alleles and to adapt to changing environments. Most signatures of balancing and positive selection are species-specific, with signatures of balancing selection more often being shared among species. We also identify loci with evidence of positive selection across several lineages. Notably, we detect signatures of positive selection in several genes related to brain function, anatomy, diet and immune processes. Our results contribute to a better understanding of human evolution by putting the evidence of natural selection in humans within its larger evolutionary context. The global map of natural selection in our closest living relatives is available as an interactive browser at http://tinyurl.com/nf8qmzh. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Adenovirus and Herpesvirus Diversity in Free-Ranging Great Apes in the Sangha Region of the Republic of Congo

Science.gov (United States)

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

Detection of termites and other insects consumed by African great apes using molecular fecal analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamad, Ibrahim; Delaporte, Eric; Raoult, Didier; Bittar, Fadi

2014-03-27

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.

Stable isotope ecology of Miocene bovids from Northern Greece and the ape/monkey turnover in the Balkans.

Science.gov (United States)

Merceron, Gildas; Kostopoulos, Dimitris S; Bonis, Louis de; Fourel, François; Koufos, George D; Lécuyer, Christophe; Martineau, François

2013-08-01

Eurasia was home to a great radiation of hominoid primates during the Miocene. All were extinct by the end of the Miocene in Western Eurasia. Here, we investigate the hypothesis of climate and vegetation changes at a local scale when the cercopithecoid Mesopithecus replaced the hominoid Ouranopithecus along the Axios River, Greece. Because they are herbivorous and were much more abundant than primates, bovids are preferred to primates to study climate change in the Balkans as a cause of hominoid extinction. By measuring carbon stable isotope ratios of bovid enamel, we conclude that Ouranopithecus and Mesopithecus both evolved in pure C3 environments. However, the large range of δ(13)C values of apatite carbonate from bovids combined with their molar microwear and mesowear patterns preclude the presence of dense forested landscapes in northern Greece. Instead, these bovids evolved in rather open landscapes with abundant grasses in the herbaceous layer. Coldest monthly estimated temperatures were below 10°C and warmest monthly temperatures rose close to or above 20°C for the two time intervals. Oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate from bulk samples did not show significant differences between sites but did show between-species variation within each site. Different factors influence oxygen isotope composition in this context, including water provenience, feeding ecology, body mass, and rate of amelogenesis. We discuss this latter factor in regard to the high intra-tooth variations in δ(18)Op reflecting important amplitudes of seasonal variations in temperature. These estimations fit with paleobotanical data and differ slightly from estimations based on climate models. This study found no significant change in climate before and after the extinction of Ouranopithecus along the Axios River. However, strong seasonal variations with relatively cold winters were indicated, conditions quite usual for extant monkeys but unusual for great apes distributed today in

Great ape skeletal collections: making the most of scarce and irreplaceable resources in the digital age.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Adam D; Marcus, Emily; Wood, Bernard

2013-12-01

Information about primate genomes has re-emphasized the importance of the great apes (Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo) as, for most purposes, the appropriate comparators when generating hypotheses about the most recent common ancestor of the hominins and panins, or the most recent common ancestor of the hominin clade. Great ape skeletal collections are thus an important and irreplaceable resource for researchers conducting these types of comparative analyses, yet the integrity of these collections is threatened by unnecessary use and their availability is threatened by financial pressures on the institutions in which the collections reside. We discuss the general history of great ape skeletal collections, and in order to get a better sense of the utility and potential of these important sources of data we assemble the equivalent of a biography of the Powell-Cotton Collection. We explore the history of how this collection of chimpanzee and gorilla skeletons was accumulated, how it came to be recognized as a potentially important source of comparative information, who has made use of it, and what types of data have been collected. We present a protocol for collecting information about each individual animal (e.g., which bones are preserved, their condition, etc.) and have made that information about the Powell-Cotton Collection freely available in an online relational database (Human Origins Database, www.humanoriginsdatabase.org). As an illustration of the practical application of these data, we developed a tabular summary of ontogenetic information about each individual (see Appendices A and B). Collections like the Powell-Cotton are irreplaceable sources of material regarding the hard-tissue evidence and recent history of the closest living relatives of modern humans. We end this contribution by suggesting ways that curators and the researchers who use and rely on these reference collections could work together to help preserve and protect them so that future generations

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Conservation Education and Environmental Communication in Great Ape Re-Introduction Projects: Two Cases from the Republic of Congo

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Commentary: Who really wants to save the apes?

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2007-01-31

Jan 31, 2007 ... Permanent link: https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jbsc/032/02/0183-0184. Keywords. AIDS; apes; chimpanzees; Great Ape Project. Author Affiliations. Jonathan Marks1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA. Dates. Early published ...

Comparative anatomy of the arm muscles of the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) with some comments on locomotor mechanics and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Aversi-Ferreira, Tales Alexandre; Aversi-Ferreira, Roqueline A G M F; Bretas, Rafael Vieira; Nishimaru, Hiroshi; Nishijo, Hisao

2016-08-01

The anatomical literature on the genus Macaca has focused mainly on the rhesus monkey. However, some aspects in the positional behaviors of the Japanese monkey may be different from those in rhesus monkey, suggesting that the anatomical details of these species are divergent. Four thoracic limbs of Macaca fuscata adults were dissected. The arm muscles in Japanese macaques are more similar to rhesus monkeys and Papio; these characteristics are closer to those of bearded capuchins than apes, indicating more proximity of this genus to New World primates. The anatomical features observed favor quadrupedal locomotor behaviors on the ground and in arboreal environments. Japanese monkeys, rhesus monkeys, and bearded capuchins, which share more primitive characteristics in their arm muscles, present features that favor both arboreal and quadrupedal locomotor behaviors, whereas apes, mainly Pan and Gorilla, which spend more time on the ground, present more quadrupedal specializations. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The ecological rationality of delay tolerance: insights from capuchin monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Addessi, Elsa; Paglieri, Fabio; Focaroli, Valentina

2011-04-01

Both human and non-human animals often face decisions between options available at different times, and the capacity of delaying gratification has usually been considered one of the features distinguishing humans from other animals. However, this characteristic can widely vary across individuals, species, and types of task and it is still unclear whether it is accounted for by phylogenetic relatedness, feeding ecology, social structure, or metabolic rate. To disentangle these hypotheses, we evaluated temporal preferences in capuchin monkeys, South-American primates that, despite splitting off from human lineage approximately 35 million years ago, show striking behavioural analogies with the great apes. Then, we compared capuchins' performance with that of the other primate species tested so far with the same procedure. Overall, capuchins showed a delay tolerance significantly higher than closely related species, such as marmosets and tamarins, and comparable to that shown by great apes. Capuchins' tool use abilities might explain their comparatively high preference for delayed options in inter-temporal choices. Moreover, as in humans, capuchin females showed a greater delay tolerance than males, possibly because of their less opportunistic foraging style. Thus, our results shed light on the evolutionary origins of self-control supporting explanations of delay tolerance in terms of feeding ecology. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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).

Femoral morphology and femoropelvic musculoskeletal anatomy of humans and great apes: a comparative virtopsy study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morimoto, Naoki; Ponce de León, Marcia S; Nishimura, Takeshi; Zollikofer, Christoph P E

2011-09-01

The proximal femoral morphology of fossil hominins is routinely interpreted in terms of muscular topography and associated locomotor modes. However, the detailed correspondence between hard and soft tissue structures in the proximal femoral region of extant great apes is relatively unknown, because dissection protocols typically do not comprise in-depth osteological descriptions. Here, we use computed tomography and virtopsy (virtual dissection) for non-invasive examination of the femoropelvic musculoskeletal anatomy in Pan troglodytes, P. paniscus, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus, and Homo sapiens. Specifically, we analyze the topographic relationship between muscle attachment sites and surface structures of the proximal femoral shaft such as the lateral spiral pilaster. Our results show that the origin of the vastus lateralis muscle is anterior to the insertion of gluteus maximus in all examined great ape specimens and humans. In gorillas and orangutans, the insertion of gluteus maximus is on the inferior (anterolateral) side of the lateral spiral pilaster. In chimpanzees, however, the maximus insertion is on its superior (posteromedial) side, similar to the situation in modern humans. These findings support the hypothesis that chimpanzees and humans exhibit a shared-derived musculoskeletal topography of the proximal femoral region, irrespective of their different locomotor modes, whereas gorillas and orangutans represent the primitive condition. Caution is thus warranted when inferring locomotor behavior from the surface topography of the proximal femur of fossil hominins, as the morphology of this region may contain a strong phyletic signal that tends to blur locomotor adaptation. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Spontaneous expression of mirror self-recognition in monkeys after learning precise visual-proprioceptive association for mirror images.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Liangtang; Zhang, Shikun; Poo, Mu-Ming; Gong, Neng

2017-03-21

Mirror self-recognition (MSR) is generally considered to be an intrinsic cognitive ability found only in humans and a few species of great apes. Rhesus monkeys do not spontaneously show MSR, but they have the ability to use a mirror as an instrument to find hidden objects. The mechanism underlying the transition from simple mirror use to MSR remains unclear. Here we show that rhesus monkeys could show MSR after learning precise visual-proprioceptive association for mirror images. We trained head-fixed monkeys on a chair in front of a mirror to touch with spatiotemporal precision a laser pointer light spot on an adjacent board that could only be seen in the mirror. After several weeks of training, when the same laser pointer light was projected to the monkey's face, a location not used in training, all three trained monkeys successfully touched the face area marked by the light spot in front of a mirror. All trained monkeys passed the standard face mark test for MSR both on the monkey chair and in their home cage. Importantly, distinct from untrained control monkeys, the trained monkeys showed typical mirror-induced self-directed behaviors in their home cage, such as using the mirror to explore normally unseen body parts. Thus, bodily self-consciousness may be a cognitive ability present in many more species than previously thought, and acquisition of precise visual-proprioceptive association for the images in the mirror is critical for revealing the MSR ability of the animal.

Tooth cusp sharpness as a dietary correlate in great apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Berthaume, Michael A

2014-02-01

Mammalian molars have undergone heavy scrutiny to determine correlates between morphology and diet. Here, the relationship between one aspect of occlusal morphology, tooth cusp radius of curvature (RoC), and two broad dietary categories, folivory and frugivory, is analyzed in apes. The author hypothesizes that there is a relationship between tooth cusp RoC and diet, and that folivores have sharper teeth than frugivores, and further test the correlation between tooth cusp RoC and tooth cusp size. Eight measures of tooth cusp RoC (two RoCs per cusp) were taken from 53 M(2) s from four species and subspecies of frugivorous apes (Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, and Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and two subspecies of folivorous apes (Gorilla beringei beringei, and Gorilla beringei graueri). Phylogenetically corrected ANOVAs were run on the full dataset and several subsets of the full dataset, revealing that, when buccolingual RoCs are taken into account, tooth cusp RoCs can successfully differentiate folivores and frugivores. PCAs revealed that folivores consistently had duller teeth than frugivores. In addition, a weak, statistically significant positive correlation exists between tooth cusp size and tooth cusp RoC. The author hypothesizes differences in tooth cusp RoC are correlated with wear rates, where, per vertical unit of wear, duller cusps will have a longer length of exposed enamel ridge than sharper cusps. More data need to be gathered to determine if the correlation between tooth cusp RoC and tooth cusp size holds true when small primates are considered. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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".

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Superoxide dismutase 1 is positively selected to minimize protein aggregation in great apes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dasmeh, Pouria; Kepp, Kasper Planeta

2017-01-01

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...... 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....... 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...

Forearm articular proportions and the antebrachial index in Homo sapiens, Australopithecus afarensis and the great apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Frank L'Engle; Cunningham, Deborah L; Amaral, Lia Q

2015-12-01

When hominin bipedality evolved, the forearms were free to adopt nonlocomotor tasks which may have resulted in changes to the articular surfaces of the ulna and the relative lengths of the forearm bones. Similarly, sex differences in forearm proportions may be more likely to emerge in bipeds than in the great apes given the locomotor constraints in Gorilla, Pan and Pongo. To test these assumptions, ulnar articular proportions and the antebrachial index (radius length/ulna length) in Homo sapiens (n=51), Gorilla gorilla (n=88), Pan troglodytes (n=49), Pongo pygmaeus (n=36) and Australopithecus afarensis A.L. 288-1 and A.L. 438-1 are compared. Intercept-adjusted ratios are used to control for size and minimize the effects of allometry. Canonical scores axes show that the proximally broad and elongated trochlear notch with respect to size in H. sapiens and A. afarensis is largely distinct from G. gorilla, P. troglodytes and P. pygmaeus. A cluster analysis of scaled ulnar articular dimensions groups H. sapiens males with A.L. 438-1 ulna length estimates, while one A.L. 288-1 ulna length estimate groups with Pan and another clusters most closely with H. sapiens, G. gorilla and A.L. 438-1. The relatively low antebrachial index characterizing H. sapiens and non-outlier estimates of A.L. 288-1 and A.L. 438-1 differs from those of the great apes. Unique sex differences in H. sapiens suggest a link between bipedality and forearm functional morphology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The nucleus pararaphales in the human, chimpanzee, and macaque monkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Baizer, Joan S; Weinstock, Nadav; Witelson, Sandra F; Sherwood, Chet C; Hof, Patrick R

2013-03-01

The human cerebral cortex and cerebellum are greatly expanded compared to those of other mammals, including the great apes. This expansion is reflected in differences in the size and organization of precerebellar brainstem structures, such as the inferior olive. In addition, there are cell groups unique to the human brainstem. One such group may be the nucleus pararaphales (PRa); however, there is disagreement among authors about the size and location of this nucleus in the human brainstem. The name "pararaphales" has also been used for neurons in the medulla shown to project to the flocculus in the macaque monkey. We have re-examined the existence and status of the PRa in eight humans, three chimpanzees, and four macaque monkeys using Nissl-stained sections as well as immunohistochemistry. In the human we found a cell group along the midline of the medulla in all cases; it had the form of interrupted cell columns and was variable among cases in rostrocaudal and dorsoventral extent. Cells and processes were highly immunoreactive for non-phosphorylated neurofilament protein (NPNFP); somata were immunoreactive to the synthetic enzyme for nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, and for calretinin. In macaque monkey, there was a much smaller oval cell group with NPNFP immunoreactivity. In the chimpanzee, we found a region of NPNFP-immunoreactive cells and fibers similar to what was observed in macaques. These results suggest that the "PRa" in the human may not be the same structure as the flocculus-projecting cell group described in the macaque. The PRa, like the arcuate nucleus, therefore may be unique to humans.

A Competitive Nonverbal False Belief Task for Children and Apes

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Memory processing in great apes: the effect of time and sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

The goal of ape pointing.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Analogical reasoning in a capuchin monkey (Cebus apella).

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Erica Hoy; Fragaszy, Dorothy M

2008-05-01

Previous evidence has suggested that analogical reasoning (recognizing similarities among object relations when the objects themselves are dissimilar) is limited to humans and apes. This study investigated whether capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) can use analogical reasoning to solve a 3-dimensional search task. The task involved hiding a food item under 1 of 2 or 3 plastic cups of different sizes and then allowing subjects to search for food hidden under the cup of analogous size in their own set of cups. Four monkeys were exposed to a series of relational matching tasks. If subjects reached criterion on these tasks, they were exposed to relational transfer tasks involving novel stimuli. Three of the monkeys failed to reach criterion on the basic relational matching tasks and therefore were not tested further. One monkey, however, revealed above-chance performance on a series of transfer tasks with 3 novel stimuli. This evidence suggests that contrary to previous arguments, a member of a New World monkey species can solve an analogical problem. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

A tsetse and tabanid fly survey of African great apes habitats reveals the presence of a novel trypanosome lineage but the absence of Trypanosoma brucei

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Votýpka, J.; Rádrová, J.; Skalický, T.; Jirků, M.; Jirsová, D.; Mihalca, A. D.; D'Amico, G.; Petrželková, Klára Judita; Modrý, D.; Lukeš, J.

2015-01-01

Roč. 45, č. 12 (2015), s. 741-748 ISSN 0020-7519 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Trypanosoma * Tsetse * Tabanids * African great apes * Gorillas * Transmission * Bloodmeal * Feeding preference Subject RIV: FN - Epidemiology, Contagious Diseases ; Clinical Immunology Impact factor: 4.242, year: 2015

Responses to the Assurance game in monkeys, apes, and humans using equivalent procedures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brosnan, Sarah F; Parrish, Audrey; Beran, Michael J

2011-01-01

There is great interest in the evolution of economic behavior. In typical studies, species are asked to play one of a series of economic games, derived from game theory, and their responses are compared. The advantage of this approach is the relative level of consistency and control that emerges...... from the games themselves; however, in the typical experiment, procedures and conditions differ widely, particularly between humans and other species. Thus, in the current study, we investigated how three primate species, capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans, played the Assurance (or Stag Hunt......) game using procedures that were, to the best of our ability, the same across species, particularly with respect to training and pretesting. Our goal was to determine what, if any, differences existed in the ways in which these species made decisions in this game. We hypothesized differences along...

Apes have culture but may not know that they do

Science.gov (United States)

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

Apes have culture but may not know that they do

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thibaud eGruber

2015-02-01

Full Text Available There is good evidence that some ape behaviours 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 behavioural comparisons. Here, we propose to analyse ape culture not only at the surface behavioural 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 characterise 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 reorganise 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 behaviour 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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

The relationships among jaw-muscle fiber architecture, jaw morphology, and feeding behavior in extant apes and modern humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Andrea B; Vinyard, Christopher J

2013-05-01

The jaw-closing muscles are responsible for generating many of the forces and movements associated with feeding. Muscle physiologic cross-sectional area (PCSA) and fiber length are two architectural parameters that heavily influence muscle function. While there have been numerous comparative studies of hominoid and hominin craniodental and mandibular morphology, little is known about hominoid jaw-muscle fiber architecture. We present novel data on masseter and temporalis internal muscle architecture for small- and large-bodied hominoids. Hominoid scaling patterns are evaluated and compared with representative New- (Cebus) and Old-World (Macaca) monkeys. Variation in hominoid jaw-muscle fiber architecture is related to both absolute size and allometry. PCSAs scale close to isometry relative to jaw length in anthropoids, but likely with positive allometry in hominoids. Thus, large-bodied apes may be capable of generating both absolutely and relatively greater muscle forces compared with smaller-bodied apes and monkeys. Compared with extant apes, modern humans exhibit a reduction in masseter PCSA relative to condyle-M1 length but retain relatively long fibers, suggesting humans may have sacrificed relative masseter muscle force during chewing without appreciably altering muscle excursion/contraction velocity. Lastly, craniometric estimates of PCSAs underestimate hominoid masseter and temporalis PCSAs by more than 50% in gorillas, and overestimate masseter PCSA by as much as 30% in humans. These findings underscore the difficulty of accurately estimating jaw-muscle fiber architecture from craniometric measures and suggest models of fossil hominin and hominoid bite forces will be improved by incorporating architectural data in estimating jaw-muscle forces. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The apeNEXT project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belletti, F.; Bodin, F.; Boucaud, Ph.; Cabibbo, N.; Lonardo, A.; De Luca, S.; Lukyanov, M.; Micheli, J.; Morin, L.; Pene, O.; Pleiter, D.; Rapuano, F.; Rossetti, D.; Schifano, S.F.; Simma, H.; Tripiccione, R.; Vicini, P.

2006-01-01

Numerical simulations in theoretical high-energy physics (Lattice QCD) require huge computing resources. Several generations of massively parallel computers optimised for these applications have been developed within the APE (array processor experiment) project. Large prototype systems of the latest generation, apeNEXT, are currently being assembled and tested. This contribution explains how the apeNEXT architecture is optimised for Lattice QCD, provides an overview of the hardware and software of apeNEXT, and describes its new features, like the SPMD programming model and the C compiler

Traditions in spider monkeys are biased towards the social domain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire J Santorelli

Full Text Available Cross-site comparison studies of behavioral variation can provide evidence for traditions in wild species once ecological and genetic factors are excluded as causes for cross-site differences. These studies ensure behavior variants are considered within the context of a species' ecology and evolutionary adaptations. We examined wide-scale geographic variation in the behavior of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi across five long-term field sites in Central America using a well established ethnographic cross-site survey method. Spider monkeys possess a relatively rare social system with a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, also typical of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and humans (Homo sapiens. From the initial 62 behaviors surveyed 65% failed to meet the necessary criteria for traditions. The remaining 22 behaviors showed cross-site variation in occurrence ranging from absent through to customary, representing to our knowledge, the first documented cases of traditions in this taxon and only the second case of multiple traditions in a New World monkey species. Of the 22 behavioral variants recorded across all sites, on average 57% occurred in the social domain, 19% in food-related domains and 24% in other domains. This social bias contrasts with the food-related bias reported in great ape cross-site comparison studies and has implications for the evolution of human culture. No pattern of geographical radiation was found in relation to distance across sites. Our findings promote A. geoffroyi as a model species to investigate traditions with field and captive based experiments and emphasize the importance of the social domain for the study of animal traditions.

The grand challenge of great ape health and conservation in the anthropocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Travis, Dominic A; Lonsorf, Elizabeth V; Gillespie, Thomas R

2018-01-01

"Ecosystem Health recognizes the inherent interdependence of the health of humans, animals and ecosystems and explores the perspectives, theories and methodologies emerging at the interface between ecological and health sciences." This broad focus requires new approaches and methods for solving problems of greater complexity at larger scales than ever before. Nowhere is this point more salient than the case of disease emergence and control at the human-non human primate interface in shrinking tropical forests under great anthropogenic pressure. This special edition brings together transdisciplinary experts who have created successful partnerships leading to advances in ecosystem approaches to health for wild ape populations with relevance to all developing country tropical forest environments. It is no coincidence that the advances herein highlight two long term health projects-the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project (Gombe National Park, Tanzania), and the Taï Chimpanzee Project (TCP) in Côte d'Ivoire-since standardizing and validating noninvasive disease surveillance, risk assessment and management methods presents a special series of challenges where time is a major factor. Advances highlighted in this addition include: health surveillance and monitoring, health risk analysis, field immobilization and interventions, human-NHP networks/interfaces, diagnostic tool development, and cutting edge molecular and genetic techniques. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The ZNF75 zinc finger gene subfamily: Isolation and mapping of the four members in humans and great apes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villa, A.; Strina, D.; Frattini, A. [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan (Italy)] [and others

1996-07-15

We have previously reported the characterization of the human ZNF75 gene located on Xq26, which has only limited homology (less than 65%) to other ZF genes in the databases. Here, we describe three human zinc finger genes with 86 to 95% homology to ZNF75 at the nucleotide level, which represent all the members of the human ZNF75 subfamily. One of these, ZNF75B, is a pseudogene mapped to chromosome 12q13. The other two, ZNF75A and ZNF75C, maintain on ORF in the sequenced region, and at least the latter is expressed in the U937 cell line. They were mapped to chromosomes 16 and 11, respectively. All these genes are conserved in chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. The ZNF75B homologue is a pseudogene in all three great apes, and in chimpanzee it is located on chromosome 10 (phylogenetic XII), at p13 (corresponding to the human 12q13). The chimpanzee homologue of ZNF75 is also located on the Xq26 chromosome, in the same region, as detected by in situ hybridization. As expected, nucleotide changes were clearly more abundant between human and organutan than between human and chimpanzee or gorilla homologues. Members of the same class were more similar to each other than to the other homologues within the same species. This suggests that the duplication and/or retrotranscription events occurred in a common ancestor long before great ape speciation. This, together with the existance of at least two genes in cows and horses, suggests a relatively high conservation of this gene family. 20 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Keeping track of time: evidence for episodic-like memory in great apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Ordas, Gema; Haun, Daniel; Colmenares, Fernando; Call, Josep

2010-03-01

Episodic memory, as defined by Tulving, can be described in terms of behavioural elements (what, where and when information) but it is also accompanied by an awareness of one's past (chronesthesia) and a subjective conscious experience (autonoetic awareness). Recent experiments have shown that corvids and rodents recall the where, what and when of an event. This capability has been called episodic-like memory because it only fulfils the behavioural criteria for episodic memory. We tested seven chimpanzees, three orangutans and two bonobos of various ages by adapting two paradigms, originally developed by Clayton and colleagues to test scrub jays. In Experiment 1, subjects were fed preferred but perishable food (frozen juice) and less preferred but non-perishable food (grape). After the food items were hidden, subjects could choose one of them either after 5 min or 1 h. The frozen juice was still available after 5 min but melted after 1 h and became unobtainable. Apes chose the frozen juice significantly more after 5 min and the grape after 1 h. In Experiment 2, subjects faced two baiting events happening at different times, yet they formed an integrated memory for the location and time of the baiting event for particular food items. We also included a memory task that required no temporal encoding. Our results showed that apes remember in an integrated fashion what, where and when (i.e., how long ago) an event happened; that is, apes distinguished between different events in which the same food items were hidden in different places at different times. The temporal control of their choices was not dependent on the familiarity of the platforms where the food was hidden. Chimpanzees' and bonobos' performance in the temporal encoding task was age-dependent, following an inverted U-shaped distribution. The age had no effect on the performance of the subjects in the task that required no temporal encoding.

Species association of hepatitis B virus (HBV in non-human apes; evidence for recombination between gorilla and chimpanzee variants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinéad Lyons

Full Text Available Hepatitis B virus (HBV infections are widely distributed in humans, infecting approximately one third of the world's population. HBV variants have also been detected and genetically characterised from Old World apes; Gorilla gorilla (gorilla, Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee, Pongo pygmaeus (orang-utan, Nomascus nastusus and Hylobates pileatus (gibbons and from the New World monkey, Lagothrix lagotricha (woolly monkey. To investigate species-specificity and potential for cross species transmission of HBV between sympatric species of apes (such as gorillas and chimpanzees in Central Africa or between humans and chimpanzees or gorillas, variants of HBV infecting captive wild-born non-human primates were genetically characterised. 9 of 62 chimpanzees (11.3% and two from 11 gorillas (18% were HBV-infected (15% combined frequency, while other Old world monkey species were negative. Complete genome sequences were obtained from six of the infected chimpanzee and both gorillas; those from P. t .ellioti grouped with previously characterised variants from this subspecies. However, variants recovered from P. t. troglodytes HBV variants also grouped within this clade, indicative of transmission between sub-species, forming a paraphyletic clade. The two gorilla viruses were phylogenetically distinct from chimpanzee and human variants although one showed evidence for a recombination event with a P.t.e.-derived HBV variant in the partial X and core gene region. Both of these observations provide evidence for circulation of HBV between different species and sub-species of non-human primates, a conclusion that differs from the hypothesis if of strict host specificity of HBV genotypes.

A tsetse and tabanid fly survey of African great apes habitats reveals the presence of a novel trypanosome lineage but the absence of Trypanosoma brucei

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Votýpka, Jan; Rádrová, Jana; Skalický, Tomáš; Jirků, Milan; Jirsová, D.; Mihalca, A. D.; D'Amico, G.; Petrželková, Klára Judita; Modrý, David; Lukeš, Julius

2015-01-01

Roč. 45, OCT 2015 (2015), s. 741-748 ISSN 0020-7519 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0032 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 316304 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0300 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Trypanosoma * Tsetse * Tabanids * African great apes * Gorillas * Transmission * Bloodmeal * Feeding preference Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 4.242, year: 2015

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

What do Natural Categorization Studies tell us about the Concepts of Apes and Bears?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Vonk

2014-08-01

Full Text Available To properly test hypotheses about the emergence of cognitive capacities in humans and other animals, it is important to test species that differ in morphology and ecology. One of the most notable aspects of animal ecology that has been championed as a factor in the evolution of cognitive skills is social complexity. However, to determine the significance of social lifestyle on an organism‟s cognitive abilities, it is important to test both social and less social species in similar tasks. We have conducted a series of natural categorization studies with three great ape species and recently extended this program of research to include American black bears (Ursus Americanus. Here we analyze the bears‟ choices of stimuli from our previously published categorization experiments and compare the pattern of their choices to that of apes tested previously. Like the apes, the individual bears show idiosyncratic choices that do not clearly differentiate between conceptual and perceptual strategies in performing categorization tasks. Despite their relatively asocial lifestyles, bears thus far appear to display cognitive abilities commiserate with those of the great apes. We suggest that researchers broaden their approach to study more diverse species in analogous tasks and make a concerted effort to view experimental tasks from the animals‟ perspectives.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Comparison of Boolean analysis and standard phylogenetic methods using artificially evolved and natural mt-tRNA sequences from great apes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ari, Eszter; Ittzés, Péter; Podani, János; Thi, Quynh Chi Le; Jakó, Eena

2012-04-01

Boolean analysis (or BOOL-AN; Jakó et al., 2009. BOOL-AN: A method for comparative sequence analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 52, 887-97.), a recently developed method for sequence comparison uses the Iterative Canonical Form of Boolean functions. It considers sequence information in a way entirely different from standard phylogenetic methods (i.e. Maximum Parsimony, Maximum-Likelihood, Neighbor-Joining, and Bayesian analysis). The performance and reliability of Boolean analysis were tested and compared with the standard phylogenetic methods, using artificially evolved - simulated - nucleotide sequences and the 22 mitochondrial tRNA genes of the great apes. At the outset, we assumed that the phylogeny of Hominidae is generally well established, and the guide tree of artificial sequence evolution can also be used as a benchmark. These offer a possibility to compare and test the performance of different phylogenetic methods. Trees were reconstructed by each method from 2500 simulated sequences and 22 mitochondrial tRNA sequences. We also introduced a special re-sampling method for Boolean analysis on permuted sequence sites, the P-BOOL-AN procedure. Considering the reliability values (branch support values of consensus trees and Robinson-Foulds distances) we used for simulated sequence trees produced by different phylogenetic methods, BOOL-AN appeared as the most reliable method. Although the mitochondrial tRNA sequences of great apes are relatively short (59-75 bases long) and the ratio of their constant characters is about 75%, BOOL-AN, P-BOOL-AN and the Bayesian approach produced the same tree-topology as the established phylogeny, while the outcomes of Maximum Parsimony, Maximum-Likelihood and Neighbor-Joining methods were equivocal. We conclude that Boolean analysis is a promising alternative to existing methods of sequence comparison for phylogenetic reconstruction and congruence analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All

Morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. I. Muscle architecture.

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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.

Remembering past exchanges: Apes fail to use social cues

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Amy Lewis

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Nonhuman primates can remember events from their distant past. Furthermore, they can distinguish between very similar events by the process of binding. So far, research into long-term memory and binding has focused on the binding of contextual information, such as spatial surroundings. As such, we aimed to investigate if apes can bind and retrieve other types of information, specifically, social information. We presented great apes with three different object types; they learnt to exchange (via reinforcement one of the object types with one experimenter and another type with a second, different, experimenter. The remaining object type was not reinforced by either of the experimenters. After a delay of two or ten weeks, we assessed the apes’ memory of which object type was exchanged with which experimenter. Additionally, we introduced a new experimenter to see if the apes could infer by exclusion that the remaining object type should be exchanged with the new experimenter. The apes successfully remembered which object types were exchanged, but failed to distinguish which object type was exchanged with whom. This failure to bind an object type to a specific person may have resulted from the apes learning to use a rule based on recency, as opposed to learning a conditional rule involving social information. However, results from a second experiment suggested they fail to incorporate social information even when no other information could guide successful performance. Our findings are consistent with research showing long-term memory in primates, but suggest that social information may not be bound in memory as readily as spatial or contextual information.

Male and female western gorilla diet: preferred foods, use of fallback resources, and implications for ape versus old world monkey foraging strategies.

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Doran-Sheehy, D; Mongo, P; Lodwick, J; Conklin-Brittain, N L

2009-12-01

Most of what is currently known about western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) diet is based on indirect studies using fecal samples and trail signs rather than measures based on direct observations. Here we report results on adult male and female western gorilla foraging behavior, based on systematic focal observations and nutritional analyses of foods. We found that western gorillas, like other apes, are highly selective ripe fruit specialists, seeking fruit high in energy, low in antifeedants, and rare in the environment. During seasonal fruiting peaks, fruit accounted for up to 70% of feeding time. When ripe fruit was scarce, gorillas increased time spent feeding on leaves and nonpreferred fruits and herbs. Leaves were the major fallback food, accounting for up to 70% of feeding time in males and 50% in females during periods of fruit scarcity. In spite of large differences in body size, the sexes were remarkably similar in their overall diet, not differing in time spent feeding on fruit or preferred herbs. However, the male consistently fed more often and on a greater variety of leaves than did females, whereas females fed more often on fallback herbs and termites. Our findings, when considered in light of previous findings on sympatric mangabeys, indicate that the foraging strategy of western gorillas is broadly similar to that of chimpanzees and orangutans, and distinct from that of old world monkeys.

Anopheles moucheti and Anopheles vinckei are candidate vectors of ape Plasmodium parasites, including Plasmodium praefalciparum in Gabon.

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Christophe Paupy

Full Text Available During the last four years, knowledge about the diversity of Plasmodium species in African great apes has considerably increased. Several new species were described in chimpanzees and gorillas, and some species that were previously considered as strictly of human interest were found to be infecting African apes. The description in gorillas of P. praefalciparum, the closest relative of P. falciparum which is the main malignant agent of human malaria, definitively changed the way we understand the evolution and origin of P. falciparum. This parasite is now considered to have appeared recently, following a cross-species transfer from gorillas to humans. However, the Plasmodium vector mosquito species that have served as bridge between these two host species remain unknown. In order to identify the vectors that ensure ape Plasmodium transmission and evaluate the risk of transfer of these parasites to humans, we carried out a field study in Gabon to capture Anopheles in areas where wild and semi-wild ape populations live. We collected 1070 Anopheles females belonging to 15 species, among which An. carnevalei, An. moucheti and An. marshallii were the most common species. Using mtDNA-based PCR tools, we discovered that An. moucheti, a major human malaria vector in Central Africa, could also ensure the natural transmission of P. praefalciparum among great apes. We also showed that, together with An. vinckei, An. moucheti was infected with P. vivax-like parasites. An. moucheti constitutes, therefore, a major candidate for the transfer of Plasmodium parasites from apes to humans.

The ethics of killing human/great-ape chimeras for their organs: a reply to Shaw et al.

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Palacios-González, César

2016-06-01

The aim of this paper is to critically examine David Shaw, Wybo Dondorp, and Guido de Wert's arguments in favour of the procurement of human organs from human/nonhuman-primate chimeras, specifically from great-ape/human chimeras. My main claim is that their arguments fail and are in need of substantial revision. To prove this I first introduce the topic, and then reconstruct Shaw et al.'s position and arguments. Next, I show that Shaw et al.: (1) failed to properly apply the subsidiarity and proportionality principles; (2) neglected species overlapping cases in their ethical assessment; (3) ignored the ethics literature on borderline persons; and (4) misunderstood McMahan's two-tiered moral theory. These mistakes render an important part of their conclusions either false or problematic to the point that they would no longer endorse them. Finally I will briefly mention a possible multipolar solution to the human organ shortage problem that would reduce the need for chimeras' organs.

Spatial cognition in apes and humans.

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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.

Preference transitivity and symbolic representation in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella.

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Elsa Addessi

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Can non-human animals comprehend and employ symbols? The most convincing empirical evidence comes from language-trained apes, but little is known about this ability in monkeys. Tokens can be regarded as symbols since they are inherently non-valuable objects that acquire an arbitrarily assigned value upon exchange with an experimenter. Recent evidence suggested that capuchin monkeys, which diverged from the human lineage 35 million years ago, can estimate, represent and combine token quantities. A fundamental and open question is whether monkeys can reason about symbols in ways similar to how they reason about real objects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we examined this broad question in the context of economic choice behavior. Specifically, we assessed whether, in a symbolic context, capuchins' preferences satisfy transitivity--a fundamental trait of rational decision-making. Given three options A, B and C, transitivity holds true if A > or = B, B > or = C and A > or = C (where > or = indicates preference. In this study, we trained monkeys to exchange three types of tokens for three different foods. We then compared choices monkeys made between different types of tokens with choices monkeys made between the foods. Qualitatively, capuchins' preferences revealed by the way of tokens were similar to those measured with the actual foods. In particular, when choosing between tokens, monkeys displayed strict economic preferences and their choices satisfied transitivity. Quantitatively, however, values measured by the way of tokens differed systematically from those measured with the actual foods. In particular, for any pair of foods, the relative value of the preferred food increased when monkeys chose between the corresponding tokens. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that indeed capuchins are capable of treating tokens as symbols. However, as they do so, capuchins experience the cognitive burdens imposed by symbolic

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

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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.

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

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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

Status of the apeNEXT project

CERN Document Server

Ammendola, R.; Boucaud, Philippe; Cabibbo, N.; Di Carlo, F.; De Pietri, R.; Di Renzo, F.; Errico, W.; Fucci, A.; Guagnelli, M.; Kaldass, H.; Lonardo, A.; de Luca, S.; Micheli, J.; Morenas, V.; Pene, O.; Petronzio, R.; Palombi, F.; Pleiter, D.; Paschedag, N.; Rapuano, F.; De Riso, P.; Rossetti, D.; Salamon, A.; Salina, G.; Sartori, L.; Schifano, F.; Simma, H.; Tripiccione, R.; Vicini, P.; Boucaud, Ph.; 10.1016/S0920-5632(03)01755-9

2003-01-01

We present the current status of the apeNEXT project. Aim of this project is the development of the next generation of APE machines which will provide multi-teraflop computing power. Like previous machines, apeNEXT is based on a custom designed processor, which is specifically optimized for simulating QCD. We discuss the machine design, report on benchmarks, and give an overview on the status of the software development.

Chromosome phylogenies of man, great apes, and Old World monkeys.

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De Grouchy, J

1987-08-31

The karyotypes of man and of the closely related Pongidae--chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan--differ by a small number of well known rearrangements, mainly pericentric inversions and one fusion which reduced the chromosome number from 48 in the Pongidae to 46 in man. Dutrillaux et al. (1973, 1975, 1979) reconstructed the chromosomal phylogeny of the entire primate order. More and more distantly related species were compared thus moving backward in evolution to the common ancestors of the Pongidae, of the Cercopithecoidae, the Catarrhini, the Platyrrhini, the Prosimians, and finally the common ancestor of all primates. Descending the pyramid it becomes possible to assign the rearrangements that occurred in each phylum, and the one that led to man in particular. The main conclusions are that this phylogeny is compatible with the occurrence during evolution of simple chromosome rearrangements--inversions, fusions, reciprocal translocation, acquisition or loss of heterochromatin--and that it is entirely consistent with the known primate phylogeny based on physical morphology and molecular evolution. If heterochromatin is not taken into account, man has in common with the other primates practically all of his chromosomal material as determined by chromosome banding. However, it is arranged differently, according to species, on account of chromosome rearrangements. This interpretation has been confirmed by comparative gene mapping, which established that the same chromosome segments, identified by banding, carry the same genes (Finaz et al., 1973; Human Gene Mapping 8, 1985). A remarkable observation made by Dutrillaux is that different primate phyla seem to have adopted different chromosome rearrangements in the course of evolution: inversions for the Pongidae, Robertsonian fusions for the lemurs, etc. This observation may raise many questions, among which is that of an organized evolution. Also, the breakpoints of chromosomal rearrangements observed during evolution, in human chromosomal diseases, and after ionizing irradiation do not seem to be distributed at random. Chromosomal rearrangements observed in evolution are known to be harmful in humans, leading to complete or partial sterility through abnormal offspring in the heterozygous state but not in the homozygous state. They then become a robust reproductive barrier capable of creating new species, far more powerful than gene mutations advocated by neo-Darwinism. The homozygous state may be achieved especially through inbreeding, which must have played a major role during primate evolution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Capturing Snapshots of APE1 Processing DNA Damage

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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

APES Beamforming Applied to Medical Ultrasound Imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomberg, Ann E. A.; Holfort, Iben Kraglund; Austeng, Andreas

2009-01-01

Recently, adaptive beamformers have been introduced to medical ultrasound imaging. The primary focus has been on the minimum variance (MV) (or Capon) beamformer. This work investigates an alternative but closely related beamformer, the Amplitude and Phase Estimation (APES) beamformer. APES offers...... added robustness at the expense of a slightly lower resolution. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the APES beamformer on medical imaging data, since correct amplitude estimation often is just as important as spatial resolution. In our simulations we have used a 3.5 MHz, 96...... element linear transducer array. When imaging two closely spaced point targets, APES displays nearly the same resolution as the MV, and at the same time improved amplitude control. When imaging cysts in speckle, APES offers speckle statistics similar to that of the DAS, without the need for temporal...

Aping the Ape: Kafka's "Report to an Academy"

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Ziad Elmarsafy

1995-06-01

Full Text Available The "Report to an Academy" narrates a curious situation: an ape presents (or rather, performs a report to an academy. What he presents is an autobiography. Like so much in Kafka, the "Report" is a parable about writing in general and about the writer's identity in particular. This essay attempts to address these issues through a close reading of Kafka's text against Blanchot's L'espace littéraire . Central to this endeavour is an analysis of the ape's use of the first-person pronoun as someone who fashions himself while, at the same time, presenting a theatrical autobiography featuring the self in question. My reading then moves on to analyze the act of writing as a negotiation of the passage between self and other, framed as it is by the theatrical context of Kafka's parable.

Investigations of rhesus monkey video-task performance: evidence for enrichment

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Washburn, D. A.; Rumbaugh, D. M.

1992-01-01

We have developed the Language Research Center's Computerized Test System (LRC-CTS) for psychological research. Basically, the LRC-CTS is a battery of software tasks--computerized versions of many of the classic testing paradigms of cognitive and comparative psychology--and the hardware required to administer them. An XT- or 386-compatible computer is connected to a color monitor, onto which computer-generated stimuli are presented. Sound feedback is delivered through an external speaker/amplifier, and a joystick is used as an input device. The animals reach through the mesh of their home cages to manipulate the joystick, which causes isomorphic movements of a cursor on the screen thereby allowing animals to respond according to the varied demands of the tasks. Correct responses are rewarded with a fruit-flavored chow pellet. Using this technology, we have trained and tested rhesus monkeys, a variety of apes, human adults, and normally developing or mentally retarded human children. Other labs using the LRC-CTS are beginning to report encouraging results with other monkey species as well. From this research, a number of interesting and important psychological findings have resulted. In the present paper, however, evidence will be reviewed which suggests that the LRC-CTS is an effective means of providing environmental enrichment to singly housed rhesus monkeys.

APE (state-oriented approach) centralized control procedures; Procedures de conduite APE (Approche Par Etats)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Astier, D. [FRAMATOME ANP, 92 - Paris-La-Defence (France); Depont, G. [Electricite de France (EDF/DPN), 93 - Saint-Denis (France); Van Dermarliere, Y. [Electricite de France (EDF/SEPTEN), 69 - Villeurbanne (France)

2004-07-01

This article presents the progressive implementation of the state-oriented approach (APE) for centralized control procedures in French nuclear power plants. The implementation began in the years 1982-83 and it concerned only the circuits involved in engineered safeguard systems such IS (safety injection), EAS (containment spray system) and GMPP (reactor coolant pump set). In 2003 the last PWR unit switched from the event oriented approach to APE for post-accidental situations.

Broca's arrow: evolution, prediction, and language in the brain.

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Cooper, David L

2006-01-01

Brodmann's areas 44 and 45 in the human brain, also known as Broca's area, have long been associated with language functions, especially in the left hemisphere. However, the precise role Broca's area plays in human language has not been established with certainty. Broca's area has homologs in the great apes and in area F5 in monkeys, which suggests that its original function was not linguistic at all. In fact, great ape and hominid brains show very similar left-over-right asymmetries in Broca's area homologs as well as in other areas, such as homologs to Wernicke's area, that are normally associated with language in modern humans. Moreover, the so-called mirror neurons are located in Broca's area in great apes and area F5 in monkeys, which seem to provide a representation of cause and effect in a primate's environment, particularly its social environment. Humans appear to have these mirror neurons in Broca's area as well. Similarly, genetic evidence related to the FOXP2 gene implicates Broca's area in linguistic function and dysfunction, but the gene itself is a highly conserved developmental gene in vertebrates and is shared with only two or three differences between humans and great apes, five between humans and mice, and eight between humans and songbirds. Taking neurons and portions of the brain as discrete computational segments in the sense of constituting specific Turing machines, this evidence points to a predictive motor and conceptual function for Broca's area in primates, especially for social concepts. In human language, this is consistent with evidence from typological and cognitive linguistics. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The nature of visual self-recognition.

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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.

Taxonomy proposal for Old World monkey adenoviruses: characterisation of several non-human, non-ape primate adenovirus lineages.

Science.gov (United States)

Pantó, Laura; Podgorski, Iva I; Jánoska, Máté; Márkó, Orsolya; Harrach, Balázs

2015-12-01

A species classification regarding Old World monkey adenoviruses is proposed. We determined the nucleotide sequences of PCR-amplified fragments from the genes of the IVa2, DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, penton base, and hexon proteins from every simian adenovirus (SAdV) serotype that originated from Old World monkeys for which the full genome sequence had not yet been published. We confirmed that the majority of Old Word monkey SAdVs belong to two previously established species. Interestingly, one is the most recently established human AdV species, Human mastadenovirus G, which includes a single human virus, HAdV-52, as well as SAdV-1, -2, -7, -11, -12, and -15. The other approved species, Simian mastadenovirus A includes SAdV-3, -4, -6, -9, -10, -14, and -48. Several SAdVs (SAdV-5, -8, -49, -50) together with baboon AdV-1 and rhesus monkey AdV strains A1139, A1163, A1173, A1258, A1285, A1296, A1312, A1327 and A1335 have been proposed to be classified into an additional species, Simian mastadenovirus B. Another proposed species, Simian mastadenovirus C has been described for SAdV-19, baboon AdV-2/4 and -3. Our study revealed the existence of four additional AdV lineages. The corresponding new candidate species are Simian mastadenovirus D (for SAdV-13), Simian mastadenovirus E (for SAdV-16), Simian mastadenovirus F (for SAdV-17 and -18), and Simian mastadenovirus G (for SAdV-20). Several biological and genomic properties, such as the host origin, haemagglutination profile, number of fibre genes, and G+C content of the genome, strongly support this classification. Three SAdV strains originating from the American Type Culture Collection turned out to be mixtures of at least two virus types, either of the same species (SAdV-12 and -15 types from Human mastadenovirus G) or of two different species (SAdV-5 types from Simian mastadenovirus B and Human mastadenovirus G).

Vertebrate DNA in fecal samples from bonobos and gorillas: evidence for meat consumption or artefact?

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Michael Hofreiter

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Deciphering the behavioral repertoire of great apes is a challenge for several reasons. First, due to their elusive behavior in dense forest environments, great ape populations are often difficult to observe. Second, members of the genus Pan are known to display a great variety in their behavioral repertoire; thus, observations from one population are not necessarily representative for other populations. For example, bonobos (Pan paniscus are generally believed to consume almost no vertebrate prey. However, recent observations show that at least some bonobo populations may consume vertebrate prey more commonly than previously believed. We investigated the extent of their meat consumption using PCR amplification of vertebrate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA segments from DNA extracted from bonobo feces. As a control we also attempted PCR amplifications from gorilla feces, a species assumed to be strictly herbivorous. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found evidence for consumption of a variety of mammalian species in about 16% of the samples investigated. Moreover, 40% of the positive DNA amplifications originated from arboreal monkeys. However, we also found duiker and monkey mtDNA in the gorilla feces, albeit in somewhat lower percentages. Notably, the DNA sequences isolated from the two ape species fit best to the species living in the respective regions. This result suggests that the sequences are of regional origin and do not represent laboratory contaminants. CONCLUSIONS: Our results allow at least three possible and mutually not exclusive conclusions. First, all results may represent contamination of the feces by vertebrate DNA from the local environment. Thus, studies investigating a species' diet from feces DNA may be unreliable due to the low copy number of DNA originating from diet items. Second, there is some inherent difference between the bonobo and gorilla feces, with only the later ones being contaminated. Third, similar to bonobos, for

Vertebrate DNA in fecal samples from bonobos and gorillas: evidence for meat consumption or artefact?

Science.gov (United States)

Hofreiter, Michael; Kreuz, Eva; Eriksson, Jonas; Schubert, Grit; Hohmann, Gottfried

2010-02-25

Deciphering the behavioral repertoire of great apes is a challenge for several reasons. First, due to their elusive behavior in dense forest environments, great ape populations are often difficult to observe. Second, members of the genus Pan are known to display a great variety in their behavioral repertoire; thus, observations from one population are not necessarily representative for other populations. For example, bonobos (Pan paniscus) are generally believed to consume almost no vertebrate prey. However, recent observations show that at least some bonobo populations may consume vertebrate prey more commonly than previously believed. We investigated the extent of their meat consumption using PCR amplification of vertebrate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segments from DNA extracted from bonobo feces. As a control we also attempted PCR amplifications from gorilla feces, a species assumed to be strictly herbivorous. We found evidence for consumption of a variety of mammalian species in about 16% of the samples investigated. Moreover, 40% of the positive DNA amplifications originated from arboreal monkeys. However, we also found duiker and monkey mtDNA in the gorilla feces, albeit in somewhat lower percentages. Notably, the DNA sequences isolated from the two ape species fit best to the species living in the respective regions. This result suggests that the sequences are of regional origin and do not represent laboratory contaminants. Our results allow at least three possible and mutually not exclusive conclusions. First, all results may represent contamination of the feces by vertebrate DNA from the local environment. Thus, studies investigating a species' diet from feces DNA may be unreliable due to the low copy number of DNA originating from diet items. Second, there is some inherent difference between the bonobo and gorilla feces, with only the later ones being contaminated. Third, similar to bonobos, for which the consumption of monkeys has only recently been

Evolution of the DAZ gene and the AZFc region on primate Y chromosomes

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Yu Jane-Fang

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Azoospermia Factor c (AZFc region of the human Y chromosome is a unique product of segmental duplication. It consists almost entirely of very long amplicons, represented by different colors, and is frequently deleted in subfertile men. Most of the AZFc amplicons have high sequence similarity with autosomal segments, indicating recent duplication and transposition to the Y chromosome. The Deleted in Azoospermia (DAZ gene within the red-amplicon arose from an ancestral autosomal DAZ-like (DAZL gene. It varies significantly between different men regarding to its copy number and the numbers of RNA recognition motif and DAZ repeat it encodes. We used Southern analyses to study the evolution of DAZ and AZFc amplicons on the Y chromosomes of primates. Results The Old World monkey rhesus macaque has only one DAZ gene. In contrast, the great apes have multiple copies of DAZ, ranging from 2 copies in bonobos and gorillas to at least 6 copies in orangutans, and these DAZ genes have polymorphic structures similar to those of their human counterparts. Sequences homologous to the various AZFc amplicons are present on the Y chromosomes of some but not all primates, indicating that they arrived on the Y chromosome at different times during primate evolution. Conclusion The duplication and transposition of AZFc amplicons to the human Y chromosome occurred in three waves, i.e., after the branching of the New World monkey, the gorilla, and the chimpanzee/bonobo lineages, respectively. The red-amplicon, one of the first to arrive on the Y chromosome, amplified by inverted duplication followed by direct duplication after the separation of the Old World monkey and the great ape lineages. Subsequent duplication/deletion in the various lineages gave rise to a spectrum of DAZ gene structure and copy number found in today's great apes.

The future of future-oriented cognition in non-humans: theory and the empirical case of the great apes.

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Osvath, Mathias; Martin-Ordas, Gema

2014-11-05

One of the most contested areas in the field of animal cognition is non-human future-oriented cognition. We critically examine key underlying assumptions in the debate, which is mainly preoccupied with certain dichotomous positions, the most prevalent being whether or not 'real' future orientation is uniquely human. We argue that future orientation is a theoretical construct threatening to lead research astray. Cognitive operations occur in the present moment and can be influenced only by prior causation and the environment, at the same time that most appear directed towards future outcomes. Regarding the current debate, future orientation becomes a question of where on various continua cognition becomes 'truly' future-oriented. We question both the assumption that episodic cognition is the most important process in future-oriented cognition and the assumption that future-oriented cognition is uniquely human. We review the studies on future-oriented cognition in the great apes to find little doubt that our closest relatives possess such ability. We conclude by urging that future-oriented cognition not be viewed as expression of some select set of skills. Instead, research into future-oriented cognition should be approached more like research into social and physical cognition. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

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

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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.

Great ape origins of personality maturation and sex differences: a study of orangutans and chimpanzees.

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Weiss, Alexander; King, James E

2015-04-01

Human personality development evinces increased emotional stability, prosocial tendencies, and responsibility. One hypothesis offered to explain this pattern is Social-Investment Theory, which posits that culturally defined social roles, including marriage and employment, are responsible for the increased maturity. Alternatively, Five-Factor Theory emphasizes the role of biological factors, such as those governing physical development, which may predate the emergence of humans. Five-Factor Theory, unlike Social-Investment Theory, predicts that all or some of the human personality developmental trends should be present in great apes, our closest evolutionary relatives. To test this prediction and to better understand the evolutionary origins of sex differences, we examined age and sex differences in the chimpanzee and orangutan personality domains Extraversion, Dominance, Neuroticism, and Agreeableness. We also examined the Activity and Gregariousness facets of Extraversion and the orangutan Intellect domain. Extraversion and Neuroticism declined across age groups in both species, in common with humans. A significant interaction indicated that Agreeableness declined in orangutans but increased in chimpanzees, as it does in humans, though this may reflect differences in how Agreeableness was defined in each species. Significant interactions indicated that male chimpanzees, unlike male orangutans, displayed higher Neuroticism scores than females and maintained higher levels of Activity and Dominance into old age than female chimpanzees, male orangutans, and female orangutans. Personality-age correlations were comparable across orangutans and chimpanzees and were similar to those reported in human studies. Sex differences were stronger in chimpanzees than in humans or orangutans. These findings support Five-Factor Theory, suggest the role of gene-culture coevolution in shaping personality development, and suggest that sex differences evolved independently in different

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

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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).

APE (state-oriented approach) centralized control procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astier, D.; Depont, G.; Van Dermarliere, Y.

2004-01-01

This article presents the progressive implementation of the state-oriented approach (APE) for centralized control procedures in French nuclear power plants. The implementation began in the years 1982-83 and it concerned only the circuits involved in engineered safeguard systems such IS (safety injection), EAS (containment spray system) and GMPP (reactor coolant pump set). In 2003 the last PWR unit switched from the event oriented approach to APE for post-accidental situations

How effective are geometric morphometric techniques for assessing functional shape variation? An example from the great ape temporomandibular joint.

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Terhune, Claire E

2013-08-01

Functional shape analyses have long relied on the use of shape ratios to test biomechanical hypotheses. This method is powerful because of the ease with which results are interpreted, but these techniques fall short in quantifying complex morphologies that may not have a strong biomechanical foundation but may still be functionally informative. In contrast, geometric morphometric methods are continually being adopted for quantifying complex shapes, but they tend to prove inadequate in functional analyses because they have little foundation in an explicit biomechanical framework. The goal of this study was to evaluate the intersection of these two methods using the great ape temporomandibular joint as a case study. Three-dimensional coordinates of glenoid fossa and mandibular condyle shape were collected using a Microscribe digitizer. Linear distances extracted from these landmarks were analyzed using a series of one-way ANOVAs; further, the landmark configurations were analyzed using geometric morphometric techniques. Results suggest that the two methods are broadly similar, although the geometric morphometric data allow for the identification of shape differences among taxa that were not immediately apparent in the univariate analyses. Furthermore, this study suggests several new approaches for translating these shape data into a biomechanical context by adjusting the data using a biomechanically relevant variable. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

MANAGEMENT OF ENDOMETRIOSIS IN TWO CAPTIVE MANDRILLS (MANDRILLUS SPHINX).

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Okeson, Danelle M; Higbie, Christine T; Mylniczenko, Natalie D; Haynes, April; Bennett, Suzanne; Klocke, Emily; Carpenter, James W

2016-06-01

Endometriosis has been reported in humans, great apes, and Old World monkeys. Although cases are noted anecdotally in Mandrillus spp., and a previously reported case was noted on postmortem examination, to the authors' knowledge, no previous reports of case management have been published in the peer-reviewed literature. This paper describes the medical and surgical management of endometriosis in two mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx).

Primatology: advanced ape technology.

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McGrew, W C

2004-12-29

New findings from African rainforests show chimpanzees to have impressively advanced technology. They make tools of vegetation to harvest termites as in East and West Africa, but some apes in Central Africa show different techniques and tool sets geared for different tasks.

The Role of the Antiviral APOBEC3 Gene Family in Protecting Chimpanzees against Lentiviruses from Monkeys.

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Lucie Etienne

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Cross-species transmissions of viruses from animals to humans are at the origin of major human pathogenic viruses. While the role of ecological and epidemiological factors in the emergence of new pathogens is well documented, the importance of host factors is often unknown. Chimpanzees are the closest relatives of humans and the animal reservoir at the origin of the human AIDS pandemic. However, despite being regularly exposed to monkey lentiviruses through hunting, chimpanzees are naturally infected by only a single simian immunodeficiency virus, SIVcpz. Here, we asked why chimpanzees appear to be protected against the successful emergence of other SIVs. In particular, we investigated the role of the chimpanzee APOBEC3 genes in providing a barrier to infection by most monkey lentiviruses. We found that most SIV Vifs, including Vif from SIVwrc infecting western-red colobus, the chimpanzee's main monkey prey in West Africa, could not antagonize chimpanzee APOBEC3G. Moreover, chimpanzee APOBEC3D, as well as APOBEC3F and APOBEC3H, provided additional protection against SIV Vif antagonism. Consequently, lentiviral replication in primary chimpanzee CD4(+ T cells was dependent on the presence of a lentiviral vif gene that could antagonize chimpanzee APOBEC3s. Finally, by identifying and functionally characterizing several APOBEC3 gene polymorphisms in both common chimpanzees and bonobos, we found that these ape populations encode APOBEC3 proteins that are uniformly resistant to antagonism by monkey lentiviruses.

Effect of APE1 T2197G (Asp148Glu Polymorphism on APE1, XRCC1, PARP1 and OGG1 Expression in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

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Juliana C. Santos

2014-09-01

Full Text Available It has been hypothesized that genetic variation in base excision repair (BER might modify colorectal adenoma risk. Thus, we evaluated the influence of APE1 T2197G (Asp148Glu polymorphism on APE1, XRCC1, PARP1 and OGG1 expression in normal and tumor samples from patients with colorectal cancer. The results indicate a downregulation of OGG1 and an upregulation of XRCC1 expression in tumor tissue. Regarding the anatomical location of APE1, OGG1 and PARP-1, a decrease in gene expression was observed among patients with cancer in the rectum. In patients with or without some degree of tumor invasion, a significant downregulation in OGG1 was observed in tumor tissue. Interestingly, when taking into account the tumor stage, patients with more advanced grades (III and IV showed a significant repression for APE1, OGG1 and PARP-1. XRCC1 expression levels were significantly enhanced in tumor samples and were correlated with all clinical and histopathological data. Concerning the polymorphism T2197G, GG genotype carriers exhibited a significantly reduced expression of genes of the BER repair system (APE1, XRCC1 and PARP1. In summary, our data show that patients with colorectal cancer present expression changes in several BER genes, suggesting a role for APE1, XRCC1, PARP1 and OGG1 and APE1 polymorphism in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Moonstruck primates: owl monkeys (Aotus need moonlight for nocturnal activity in their natural environment.

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Eduardo Fernández-Duque

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Primates show activity patterns ranging from nocturnality to diurnality, with a few species showing activity both during day and night. Among anthropoids (monkeys, apes and humans, nocturnality is only present in the Central and South American owl monkey genus Aotus. Unlike other tropical Aotus species, the Azara's owl monkeys (A. azarai of the subtropics have switched their activity pattern from strict nocturnality to one that also includes regular diurnal activity. Harsher climate, food availability, and the lack of predators or diurnal competitors, have all been proposed as factors favoring evolutionary switches in primate activity patterns. However, the observational nature of most field studies has limited an understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this switch in activity patterns. The goal of our study was to evaluate the hypothesis that masking, namely the stimulatory and/or inhibitory/disinhibitory effects of environmental factors on synchronized circadian locomotor activity, is a key determinant of the unusual activity pattern of Azara's owl monkeys. We use continuous long-term (6-18 months 5-min-binned activity records obtained with actimeter collars fitted to wild owl monkeys (n =  10 individuals to show that this different pattern results from strong masking of activity by the inhibiting and enhancing effects of ambient luminance and temperature. Conclusive evidence for the direct masking effect of light is provided by data showing that locomotor activity was almost completely inhibited when moonlight was shadowed during three lunar eclipses. Temperature also negatively masked locomotor activity, and this masking was manifested even under optimal light conditions. Our results highlight the importance of the masking of circadian rhythmicity as a determinant of nocturnality in wild owl monkeys and suggest that the stimulatory effects of dim light in nocturnal primates may have been selected as an adaptive response to

Speech-like rhythm in a voiced and voiceless orangutan call.

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Adriano R Lameira

Full Text Available The evolutionary origins of speech remain obscure. Recently, it was proposed that speech derived from monkey facial signals which exhibit a speech-like rhythm of ∼5 open-close lip cycles per second. In monkeys, these signals may also be vocalized, offering a plausible evolutionary stepping stone towards speech. Three essential predictions remain, however, to be tested to assess this hypothesis' validity; (i Great apes, our closest relatives, should likewise produce 5Hz-rhythm signals, (ii speech-like rhythm should involve calls articulatorily similar to consonants and vowels given that speech rhythm is the direct product of stringing together these two basic elements, and (iii speech-like rhythm should be experience-based. Via cinematic analyses we demonstrate that an ex-entertainment orangutan produces two calls at a speech-like rhythm, coined "clicks" and "faux-speech." Like voiceless consonants, clicks required no vocal fold action, but did involve independent manoeuvring over lips and tongue. In parallel to vowels, faux-speech showed harmonic and formant modulations, implying vocal fold and supralaryngeal action. This rhythm was several times faster than orangutan chewing rates, as observed in monkeys and humans. Critically, this rhythm was seven-fold faster, and contextually distinct, than any other known rhythmic calls described to date in the largest database of the orangutan repertoire ever assembled. The first two predictions advanced by this study are validated and, based on parsimony and exclusion of potential alternative explanations, initial support is given to the third prediction. Irrespectively of the putative origins of these calls and underlying mechanisms, our findings demonstrate irrevocably that great apes are not respiratorily, articulatorilly, or neurologically constrained for the production of consonant- and vowel-like calls at speech rhythm. Orangutan clicks and faux-speech confirm the importance of rhythmic speech

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

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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.

Malles pédagogiques itinérantes « les grands singes et leur habitat »: parcours et premières évaluations de l’impact du projet en Ouganda et au Gabon Educative kits « great apes and their habitat » : itinerary and impact evaluation of the project in Uganda and in Gabon

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Helena Nambogwe

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Un programme de sensibilisation sur les grands singes et les forêts tropicales a été conçu en partenariat entre le « Projet pour la conservation des Grands Singes », le Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, l’UNESCO et la Coopération Française. Il s’appuie sur la circulation de malles pédagogiques d’un volume d’environ 1m3 contenant des outils ludiques et didactiques présentés par des animateurs locaux. Après une année de circulation de la malle dans les écoles à proximité des zones où vivent les grands singes en Ouganda et au Gabon, près de 15 000 enfants ont pris part à ce programme. Reçue dans 52 écoles primaires et secondaires en Ouganda, sur un parcours de 1 500 km organisé par le Wildlife Club of Uganda, la malle pédagogique et les animations associées ont permis selon une première étude d’impact d’accroître la motivation des enfants à protéger les grands singes et leur habitat. Au Gabon, le projet, sous l’impulsion du RAPAC, s’est appuyé sur neuf partenaires impliqués dans l’éducation environnementale et a pu être accueilli dans 66 écoles du pays dont certaines situées dans une concession forestière. Dans certaines localités, des données sur la consommation de viande de grands singes ont été collectées. Les sites atteints étaient répartis sur un circuit de 1 500 km. Les perspectives sont d’élargir le programme à d’autres pays de l’aire de répartition des grands singes en y associant des enquêtes socio-économiques et des études d’impact.  The Association « Projet pour la Conservation des Grands Singes » in partnership with MNHN, UNESCO and France Cooperation designed Great Apes kits. The showcases contain a set of entertaining and educative tools and activities explaining forests, ecosystems and great apes presented by national educators. The two first kits have moved in Uganda and Gabon in areas located where great apes occur. 15,000 kids from remote

Prognostic value of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1 expression in breast cancer.

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Joohyun Woo

Full Text Available Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1 is an essential protein for DNA base excision repair (BER and redox regulation. The ability of cancer cells to recognize DNA damage and initiate DNA repair is an important mechanism for therapeutic resistance. Several recent studies have suggested that APE1 expression levels and/or subcellular dysregulation may be used to indicate the sensitivity of tumors to radiotherapy or chemotherapy. In this study, we assessed the prognostic significance of APE1 and differences in APE1 expression levels according to breast cancer molecular subtypes. We analyzed formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue sections from 243 cases diagnosed as invasive breast cancer at Ewha Womans University Medical Center between January 2003 and December 2008. Immunohistochemistry was performed and the nuclear level of APE1 was scored by taking into account the percentage of positive cells. Medical records were reviewed to investigate clinicopathologic characteristics. We found that nuclear APE1 high-level expression (proportion ≥50% in breast cancer showed a tendency towards unfavorable prognosis regarding disease-free survival (p = 0.093. However, there was no significant difference in overall survival between low and high-level expression groups (p = 0.294. Interestingly, within the Ki-67 low-level expression group, APE1 low-level expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (p = 0.007. A significant positive correlation was observed between APE1 nuclear expression and estrogen receptor status (75.7% vs. 59.7%, p = 0.022. Also, the luminal A subtype was the most commonly observed breast cancer subtype in the APE1 high-level expression group (61.6% vs. 45.2%, p = 0.000. This study suggests that APE1 expression may be associated with breast cancer prognosis. In particular, its role as a prognostic factor would be significant for breast cancers with a low Ki-67 proliferation index

[Raman spectra of monkey cerebral cortex tissue].

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Zhu, Ji-chun; Guo, Jian-yu; Cai, Wei-ying; Wang, Zu-geng; Sun, Zhen-rong

2010-01-01

Monkey cerebral cortex, an important part in the brain to control action and thought activities, is mainly composed of grey matter and nerve cell. In the present paper, the in situ Raman spectra of the cerebral cortex of the birth, teenage and aged monkeys were achieved for the first time. The results show that the Raman spectra for the different age monkey cerebral cortex exhibit most obvious changes in the regions of 1000-1400 and 2800-3000 cm(-1). With monkey growing up, the relative intensities of the Raman bands at 1313 and 2885 cm(-1) mainly assigned to CH2 chain vibrational mode of lipid become stronger and stronger whereas the relative intensities of the Raman bands at 1338 and 2932 cm(-1) mainly assigned to CH3 chain vibrational mode of protein become weaker and weaker. In addition, the two new Raman bands at 1296 and 2850 cm(-1) are only observed in the aged monkey cerebral cortex, therefore, the two bands can be considered as a character or "marker" to differentiate the caducity degree with monkey growth In order to further explore the changes, the relative intensity ratios of the Raman band at 1313 cm(-1) to that at 1338 cm(-1) and the Raman band at 2885 cm(-1) to that at 2 932 cm(-1), I1313/I1338 and I2885/I2932, which are the lipid-to-protein ratios, are introduced to denote the degree of the lipid content. The results show that the relative intensity ratios increase significantly with monkey growth, namely, the lipid content in the cerebral cortex increases greatly with monkey growth. So, the authors can deduce that the overmuch lipid is an important cause to induce the caducity. Therefore, the results will be a powerful assistance and valuable parameter to study the order of life growth and diagnose diseases.

Spider monkey, Muriqui and Woolly monkey relationships revisited.

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de Lima, Margarida Maria Celeira; Sampaio, Iracilda; Vieira, Ricardo dos Santos; Schneider, Horacio

2007-01-01

The taxonomic relationships among the four genera of the Atelidae family, Alouatta (Howler), Ateles (Spider), Lagothrix (Woolly) and Brachyteles (Muriqui), have been the subject of great debate. In general, almost all authors agree with the assignment of Howler monkeys as the basal genus, either in its own tribe Alouattini or in the subfamily Alouattinae, but they disagree on the associations among the other members of the family. Muriquis have been grouped with Spider monkeys based on the fact that they share various behavioral and morphological characteristics. Cladistic analyses using morphological, biochemical, karyotype and behavioral characteristics depicted a phylogenetic tree that places Howler as the basal genus and the remaining genera in an unresolved politomy. More recent studies using molecular data have suggested that Muriqui and Woolly monkeys are sister groups. However, a recent study based on nuclear and mtDNA argued that politomy is what best represents the relationships among Spider, Woolly and Muriqui. To contribute to this debate we have added new data from two nuclear genes, Transferrin and von Willebrand Factor, and using an alignment of 17,997 bp we demonstrate that a total analysis strongly supports the Muriqui-Woolly clade. A gene-to-gene approach showed that four of the eight nuclear genes provide support for the Muriqui-Woolly clade, two strongly and two moderately, while none of the eight genes provide support for any alternative arrangement. The mitochondrial genes were not able to resolve the politomy. A possible reason for the difficulty in resolving atelid relationships may be the short period of time separating each cladogenetic event in the evolutionary process that shaped this family.

An anatomical and mechanical analysis of the douc monkey (genus Pygathrix), and its role in understanding the evolution of brachiation.

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Byron, C D; Granatosky, M C; Covert, H H

2017-12-01

Pygathrix is an understudied Asian colobine unusual among the Old World monkeys for its use of arm-swinging. Little data exists on the anatomy and mechanics of brachiation in this genus. Here, we consider this colobine to gain insight into the parallel evolution of suspensory behavior in primates. This study compares axial and appendicular morphological variables of Pygathrix with other Asian colobines. Additionally, to assess the functional consequences of Pygathrix limb anatomy, kinematic and kinetic data during arm-swinging are included to compare the douc monkey to other suspensory primates (Ateles and Hylobates). Compared to more pronograde species, Pygathrix and Nasalis share morphology consistent with suspensory locomotion such as its narrower scapulae and elongated clavicles. More distally, Pygathrix displays a gracile humerus, radius, and ulna, and shorter olecranon process. During suspensory locomotion, Pygathrix, Ateles, and Hylobates all display mechanical convergence in limb loading and movements of the shoulder and elbow, but Pygathrix uses pronated wrist postures that include substantial radial deviation during arm-swinging. The adoption of arm-swinging represents a major shift within at least three anthropoid clades and little data exist about its transition. Across species, few mechanical differences are observed during arm-swinging. Apparently, there are limited functional solutions to the challenges associated with moving bimanually below branches, especially in more proximal forelimb regions. Morphological data support this idea that the Pygathrix distal forelimb differs from apes more than its proximal end. These results can inform other studies of ape evolution, the pronograde to orthograde transition, and the convergent ways in which suspensory locomotion evolved in primates. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

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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 influence of life history and sexual dimorphism on entheseal changes in modern humans and African great apes.

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Marco Milella

Full Text Available Entheseal changes have been widely studied with regard to their correlation to biomechanical stress and their usefulness for biocultural reconstructions. However, anthropological and medical studies have demonstrated the marked influence of both age and sex on the development of these features. Studies of entheseal changes are mostly aimed in testing functional hypotheses and are mostly focused on modern humans, with few data available for non-human primates. The lack of comparative studies on the effect of age and sex on entheseal changes represent a gap in our understanding of the evolutionary basis of both development and degeneration of the human musculoskeletal system. The aim of the present work is to compare age trajectories and patterns of sexual dimorphism in entheseal changes between modern humans and African great apes. To this end we analyzed 23 postcranial entheses in a human contemporary identified skeletal collection (N = 484 and compared the results with those obtained from the analysis of Pan (N = 50 and Gorilla (N = 47 skeletal specimens. Results highlight taxon-specific age trajectories possibly linked to differences in life history schedules and phyletic relationships. Robusticity trajectories separate Pan and modern humans from Gorilla, whereas enthesopathic patterns are unique in modern humans and possibly linked to their extended potential lifespan. Comparisons between sexes evidence a decreasing dimorphism in robusticity from Gorilla, to modern humans to Pan, which is likely linked to the role played by size, lifespan and physical activity on robusticity development. The present study confirms previous hypotheses on the possible relevance of EC in the study of life history, pointing moreover to their usefulness in evolutionary studies.

Leaf swallowing and parasite expulsion in Khao Yai white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar), the first report in an Asian ape species.

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Barelli, Claudia; Huffman, Michael A

2017-03-01

Leaf swallowing behavior, known as a form of self-medication for the control of nematode and tapeworm infection, occurs widely in all the African great apes (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, P. t. troglodytes, P. t. verus, P. t. vellerosus, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla graueri), except mountain gorillas. It is also reported to occur in a similar context across a wide array of other animal taxa including, domestic dogs, wolves, brown bears, and civets. Despite long-term research on Asian great and small apes, this is the first report of leaf swallowing in an Asian species, the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) in Khao Yai National Park, central Thailand. We present the first evidence of leaf swallowing (Gironniera nervosa Planch CANNABACEA) behavior (N = 5 cases) and parasite (Streptopharagus pigmentatus) expulsion (N = 4 cases), recorded during 4,300 hr of direct animal observations during two distinct research projects. We recovered 4-18 rough, hairy, and hispid surfaced leaves from each sample, undigested and folded, from the freshly evacuated feces of five different individuals (2 males, 3 females, 5 to 34+ years old) living in three different social groups, between the hours of 06:00 to 10:30. Based on close inspection of the leaves, as observed in chimpanzees, it was clear that they were taken into the mouth, one at a time, folded and detached from the stem with the teeth before swallowing them whole. All instances occurred during the rainy season, the time when nematode worms were also found in the feces, although they were not found together with leaves in the same feces. These striking similarities in the details of leaf swallowing between white-handed gibbons and African great apes, and other animal species, suggest a similar self-medicative function. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

A new isolation with migration model along complete genomes infers very different divergence processes among closely related great ape species.

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Thomas Mailund

Full Text Available We present a hidden Markov model (HMM for inferring gradual isolation between two populations during speciation, modelled as a time interval with restricted gene flow. The HMM describes the history of adjacent nucleotides in two genomic sequences, such that the nucleotides can be separated by recombination, can migrate between populations, or can coalesce at variable time points, all dependent on the parameters of the model, which are the effective population sizes, splitting times, recombination rate, and migration rate. We show by extensive simulations that the HMM can accurately infer all parameters except the recombination rate, which is biased downwards. Inference is robust to variation in the mutation rate and the recombination rate over the sequence and also robust to unknown phase of genomes unless they are very closely related. We provide a test for whether divergence is gradual or instantaneous, and we apply the model to three key divergence processes in great apes: (a the bonobo and common chimpanzee, (b the eastern and western gorilla, and (c the Sumatran and Bornean orang-utan. We find that the bonobo and chimpanzee appear to have undergone a clear split, whereas the divergence processes of the gorilla and orang-utan species occurred over several hundred thousands years with gene flow stopping quite recently. We also apply the model to the Homo/Pan speciation event and find that the most likely scenario involves an extended period of gene flow during speciation.

Rhesus monkeys see who they hear: spontaneous cross-modal memory for familiar conspecifics.

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Ikuma Adachi

Full Text Available Rhesus monkeys gather much of their knowledge of the social world through visual input and may preferentially represent this knowledge in the visual modality. Recognition of familiar faces is clearly advantageous, and the flexibility and utility of primate social memory would be greatly enhanced if visual memories could be accessed cross-modally either by visual or auditory stimulation. Such cross-modal access to visual memory would facilitate flexible retrieval of the knowledge necessary for adaptive social behavior. We tested whether rhesus monkeys have cross-modal access to visual memory for familiar conspecifics using a delayed matching-to-sample procedure. Monkeys learned visual matching of video clips of familiar individuals to photographs of those individuals, and generalized performance to novel videos. In crossmodal probe trials, coo-calls were played during the memory interval. The calls were either from the monkey just seen in the sample video clip or from a different familiar monkey. Even though the monkeys were trained exclusively in visual matching, the calls influenced choice by causing an increase in the proportion of errors to the picture of the monkey whose voice was heard on incongruent trials. This result demonstrates spontaneous cross-modal recognition. It also shows that viewing videos of familiar monkeys activates naturally formed memories of real monkeys, validating the use of video stimuli in studies of social cognition in monkeys.

Rhesus monkeys attribute perceptions to others.

Science.gov (United States)

Flombaum, Jonathan I; Santos, Laurie R

2005-03-08

Paramount among human cognitive abilities is the capacity to reason about what others think, want, and see--a capacity referred to as a theory of mind (ToM). Despite its importance in human cognition, the extent to which other primates share human ToM capacities has for decades remained a mystery. To date, primates [1, 2] have performed poorly in behavioral tasks that require ToM abilities, despite the fact that some macaques are known to encode social stimuli at the level of single neurons [3-5]. Here, we presented rhesus macaques with a more ecologically relevant ToM task in which subjects could "steal" a contested grape from one of two human competitors. In six experiments, monkeys selectively retrieved the grape from an experimenter who was incapable of seeing the grape rather than an experimenter who was visually aware. These results suggest that rhesus macaques possess an essential component of ToM: the ability to deduce what others perceive on the basis of where they are looking. These results converge with new findings illustrating the importance of competitive paradigms in apes [6]. Moreover, they raise the possibility that, in primates, cortical cells thought to encode where others are looking [7] may encode what those individuals see as well.

APE1, the DNA base excision repair protein, regulates the removal of platinum adducts in sensory neuronal cultures by NER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyun-Suk; Guo, Chunlu; Thompson, Eric L.; Jiang, Yanlin; Kelley, Mark R.; Vasko, Michael R.; Lee, Suk-Hee

2015-01-01

Peripheral neuropathy is one of the major side effects of treatment with the anticancer drug, cisplatin. One proposed mechanism for this neurotoxicity is the formation of platinum adducts in sensory neurons that could contribute to DNA damage. Although this damage is largely repaired by nuclear excision repair (NER), our previous findings suggest that augmenting the base excision repair pathway (BER) by overexpressing the repair protein APE1 protects sensory neurons from cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity. The question remains whether APE1 contributes to the ability of the NER pathway to repair platinum-damage in neuronal cells. To examine this, we manipulated APE1 expression in sensory neuronal cultures and measured Pt-removal after exposure to cisplatin. When neuronal cultures were treated with increasing concentrations of cisplatin for two or three hours, there was a concentration-dependent increase in Pt-damage that peaked at four hours and returned to near baseline levels after 24 h. In cultures where APE1 expression was reduced by ∼80% using siRNA directed at APE1, there was a significant inhibition of Pt-removal over eight hours which was reversed by overexpressing APE1 using a lentiviral construct for human wtAPE1. Overexpressing a mutant APE1 (C65 APE1), which only has DNA repair activity, but not its other significant redox-signaling function, mimicked the effects of wtAPE1. Overexpressing DNA repair activity mutant APE1 (226 + 177APE1), with only redox activity was ineffective suggesting it is the DNA repair function of APE1 and not its redox-signaling, that restores the Pt-damage removal. Together, these data provide the first evidence that a critical BER enzyme, APE1, helps regulate the NER pathway in the repair of cisplatin damage in sensory neurons

APE1, the DNA base excision repair protein, regulates the removal of platinum adducts in sensory neuronal cultures by NER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyun-Suk [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Guo, Chunlu; Thompson, Eric L. [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Jiang, Yanlin [Department of Pediatrics and Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Kelley, Mark R. [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Department of Pediatrics and Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Vasko, Michael R. [Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Lee, Suk-Hee, E-mail: slee@iu.edu [Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States)

2015-09-15

Peripheral neuropathy is one of the major side effects of treatment with the anticancer drug, cisplatin. One proposed mechanism for this neurotoxicity is the formation of platinum adducts in sensory neurons that could contribute to DNA damage. Although this damage is largely repaired by nuclear excision repair (NER), our previous findings suggest that augmenting the base excision repair pathway (BER) by overexpressing the repair protein APE1 protects sensory neurons from cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity. The question remains whether APE1 contributes to the ability of the NER pathway to repair platinum-damage in neuronal cells. To examine this, we manipulated APE1 expression in sensory neuronal cultures and measured Pt-removal after exposure to cisplatin. When neuronal cultures were treated with increasing concentrations of cisplatin for two or three hours, there was a concentration-dependent increase in Pt-damage that peaked at four hours and returned to near baseline levels after 24 h. In cultures where APE1 expression was reduced by ∼80% using siRNA directed at APE1, there was a significant inhibition of Pt-removal over eight hours which was reversed by overexpressing APE1 using a lentiviral construct for human wtAPE1. Overexpressing a mutant APE1 (C65 APE1), which only has DNA repair activity, but not its other significant redox-signaling function, mimicked the effects of wtAPE1. Overexpressing DNA repair activity mutant APE1 (226 + 177APE1), with only redox activity was ineffective suggesting it is the DNA repair function of APE1 and not its redox-signaling, that restores the Pt-damage removal. Together, these data provide the first evidence that a critical BER enzyme, APE1, helps regulate the NER pathway in the repair of cisplatin damage in sensory neurons.

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

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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.

What meaning means for same and different: Analogical reasoning in humans (Homo sapiens), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Science.gov (United States)

Flemming, Timothy M; Beran, Michael J; Thompson, Roger K R; Kleider, Heather M; Washburn, David A

2008-05-01

Thus far, language- and token-trained apes (e.g., D. Premack, 1976; R. K. R. Thompson, D. L. Oden, & S. T. Boysen, 1997) have provided the best evidence that nonhuman animals can solve, complete, and construct analogies, thus implicating symbolic representation as the mechanism enabling the phenomenon. In this study, the authors examined the role of stimulus meaning in the analogical reasoning abilities of three different primate species. Humans (Homo sapiens), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) completed the same relational matching-to-sample (RMTS) tasks with both meaningful and nonmeaningful stimuli. This discrimination of relations-between-relations serves as the basis for analogical reasoning. Meaningfulness facilitated the acquisition of analogical matching for human participants, whereas individual differences among the chimpanzees suggest that meaning can either enable or hinder their ability to complete analogies. Rhesus monkeys did not succeed in the RMTS task regardless of stimulus meaning, suggesting that their ability to reason analogically, if present at all, may be dependent on a dimension other than the representational value of stimuli. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Initial investigation into development of accelerated pavement evaluation (APE) vehicle

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Steyn, WJvdM

2002-08-01

Full Text Available n e n t d e f o r m a t i o n [ m m ] Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Initial indication of performance Indication of performance after traffic application TR-2003/9: Initial investigation into development of APE vehicle. 6 2... Restricted Contract Report Initial Investigation into Development of Accelerated Pavement Evaluation (APE) Vehicle. Author: WJvdM Steyn M de Beer PREPARED FOR: PREPARED BY: CSIR Transportek STEP CSIR Transportek PO...

A unique genomic sequence in the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome [WHS] region of humans is conserved in the great apes.

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Tarzami, S T; Kringstein, A M; Conte, R A; Verma, R S

1996-10-01

The Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is caused by a partial deletion in the short arm of chromosome 4 band 16.3 (4p 16.3). A unique-sequence human DNA probe (39 kb) localized within this region has been used to search for sequence homology in the apes' equivalent chromosome 3 by FISH-technique. The WHS loci are conserved in higher primates at the expected position. Nevertheless, a control probe, which detects alphoid sequences of the pericentromeric region of humans, is diverged in chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan. The conservation of WHS loci and divergence of DNA alphoid sequences have further added to the controversy concerning human descent.

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallace, Bret D.; Berman, Zachary; Mueller, Geoffrey A.; Lin, Yunfeng; Chang, Timothy; Andres, Sara N.; Wojtaszek, Jessica L.; DeRose, Eugene F.; Appel, C. Denise; London, Robert E.; Yan, Shan; Williams, R. Scott

2016-12-27

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 structure 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.

Apes have eyes to the future.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

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Francys Subiaul

2016-07-01

Full Text Available 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.

Status of APE projects

CERN Document Server

Alfieri, R; Onofri, E; Bartoloni, A; Battista, C; Cabibbo, Nicola; Cosimi, M; Lonardo, A; Michelotti, A; Proietti, B; Rapuano, F; Rossetti, D; Sacco, G; Tassa, S; Torelli, M; Vicini, P; Pène, O; Errico, W; Magazzù, G; Sartori, L; Schiiano, F; Tripiccione, R; De Riso, P; Petronzio, Roberto; Destri, C; Frezzotti, R; Marchesini, G; Gensch, Ulrich; Jansen, K; Kretzschmann, A; Leich, H; Paschedag, N; Pleiter, D; Schwendicke, U; Simma, H; Sommer, Rainer; Sulanke, K; Wegner, P; Fucci, A; Martin, B; Pech, J; Panizzi, E; Petricola, A

2001-01-01

This talk is divided in two parts. In the first part, we will summarize the status of the APEmille project that will be completed by the end of the year. We will then devote the rest of the talk to the description of a new project for a multi-TeraFlop machine, ape NEXT. The interested reader will find a much more detailed discussion of all the items touched upon here in the full proposal of the project that will shortly appear on hep-lat. (9 refs).

Test stálosti objektu u primátů

OpenAIRE

Gálik, Michal

2014-01-01

5 ABSTRACT Object permanence is a cognitive ability to perceive the continuous existence of objects, even if they cannot be directly observed, respectively perceived by other senses (Piaget 1954). In humans object permanence develops in 6 qualitatively different stages. By using a comparative approach, it was found that the last stage 6 of this ability also occurs in great apes, gibbons and some New World monkeys (capuchin, marmoset and tamarin). In this study, we conducted a study with a ser...

On Apes, Poetry, and Language Teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Older, sociable capuchins (Cebus capucinus) invent more social behaviors, but younger monkeys innovate more in other contexts

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Perry, Susan E.; Godoy, Irene

2017-01-01

An important extension to our understanding of evolutionary processes has been the discovery of the roles that individual and social learning play in creating recurring phenotypes on which selection can act. Cultural change occurs chiefly through invention of new behavioral variants combined with social transmission of the novel behaviors to new practitioners. Therefore, understanding what makes some individuals more likely to innovate and/or transmit new behaviors is critical for creating realistic models of culture change. The difficulty in identifying what behaviors qualify as new in wild animal populations has inhibited researchers from understanding the characteristics of behavioral innovations and innovators. Here, we present the findings of a long-term, systematic study of innovation (10 y, 10 groups, and 234 individuals) in wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica. Our methodology explicitly seeks novel behaviors, requiring their absence during the first 5 y of the study to qualify as novel in the second 5 y of the study. Only about 20% of 187 innovations identified were retained in innovators’ individual behavioral repertoires, and 22% were subsequently seen in other group members. Older, more social monkeys were more likely to invent new forms of social interaction, whereas younger monkeys were more likely to innovate in other behavioral domains (foraging, investigative, and self-directed behaviors). Sex and rank had little effect on innovative tendencies. Relative to apes, capuchins devote more of their innovations repertoire to investigative behaviors and social bonding behaviors and less to foraging and comfort behaviors. PMID:28739946

eulerAPE: drawing area-proportional 3-Venn diagrams using ellipses.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

eulerAPE: drawing area-proportional 3-Venn diagrams using ellipses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luana Micallef

Full Text Available 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.

Evolutionary analysis of the highly dynamic CHEK2 duplicon in anthropoids

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Fernandes António MG

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Segmental duplications (SDs are euchromatic portions of genomic DNA (≥ 1 kb that occur at more than one site within the genome, and typically share a high level of sequence identity (>90%. Approximately 5% of the human genome is composed of such duplicated sequences. Here we report the detailed investigation of CHEK2 duplications. CHEK2 is a multiorgan cancer susceptibility gene encoding a cell cycle checkpoint kinase acting in the DNA-damage response signalling pathway. The continuous presence of the CHEK2 gene in all eukaryotes and its important role in maintaining genome stability prompted us to investigate the duplicative evolution and phylogeny of CHEK2 and its paralogs during anthropoid evolution. Results To study CHEK2 duplicon evolution in anthropoids we applied a combination of comparative FISH and in silico analyses. Our comparative FISH results with a CHEK2 fosmid probe revealed the single-copy status of CHEK2 in New World monkeys, Old World monkeys and gibbons. Whereas a single CHEK2 duplication was detected in orangutan, a multi-site signal pattern indicated a burst of duplication in African great apes and human. Phylogenetic analysis of paralogous and ancestral CHEK2 sequences in human, chimpanzee and rhesus macaque confirmed this burst of duplication, which occurred after the radiation of orangutan and African great apes. In addition, we used inter-species quantitative PCR to determine CHEK2 copy numbers. An amplification of CHEK2 was detected in African great apes and the highest CHEK2 copy number of all analysed species was observed in the human genome. Furthermore, we detected variation in CHEK2 copy numbers within the analysed set of human samples. Conclusion Our detailed analysis revealed the highly dynamic nature of CHEK2 duplication during anthropoid evolution. We determined a burst of CHEK2 duplication after the radiation of orangutan and African great apes and identified the highest CHEK2 copy number

Hematocrit and Hemoglobin Levels of Nonhuman Apes at Moderate Altitudes: A Comparison with Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Mortola, Jacopo P; Wilfong, DeeAnn

2016-12-01

Mortola, Jacopo P. and DeeAnn Wilfong. Hematocrit and hemoglobin levels of nonhuman apes at moderate altitudes: a comparison with humans. High Alt Med Biol. 17:323-335, 2016.-We asked to what extent the hematologic response (increase in hematocrit [Hct] and in blood hemoglobin concentration [Hb]) of humans to altitude hypoxia was shared by our closest relatives, the nonhuman apes. Data were collected from 29 specimens of 7 species of apes at 2073 m altitude (barometric pressure Pb = 598 mm Hg); additional data originated from apes located at a lower altitude (1493 m, Pb = 639 mm Hg). The human altitude profiles of Hct and Hb between sea level and 3000 m were constructed from a compilation of literature sources that (all combined) comprised data sets of 10,000-12,000 subjects for each gender. These human data were binned for 0-250 m altitude (sea level) and for each 500 m of progressively higher altitudes. Values of Hb and Hct of both men and women were significantly higher than at sea level at the 1500 bin (1250-1750 m); hence, the altitude threshold for the human hematological responses must be between 1000 and 1500 m. In the nonhuman apes, no increase in Hct or Hb was apparent at 1500 m; at 2000 m, the increase was significant only for the Hb of females. At either altitude in the group of nonhuman apes, the increase in Hct was much less than in humans, and that of Hb was significantly less at 1500 m. We conclude that lack of, or minimal, hematopoietic response to moderate altitude can occur in mammalian species that are not genetically adapted to high altitudes. Polycythemia is not a common response to altitude hypoxia and, at least at moderate altitudes, the degree of the human response may represent the exception among apes rather than the rule.

Rapid Categorization of Human and Ape Faces in 9-Month-Old Infants Revealed by Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Peykarjou, Stefanie; Hoehl, Stefanie; Pauen, Sabina; Rossion, Bruno

2017-10-02

This study investigates categorization of human and ape faces in 9-month-olds using a Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation (FPVS) paradigm while measuring EEG. Categorization responses are elicited only if infants discriminate between different categories and generalize across exemplars within each category. In study 1, human or ape faces were presented as standard and deviant stimuli in upright and inverted trials. Upright ape faces presented among humans elicited strong categorization responses, whereas responses for upright human faces and for inverted ape faces were smaller. Deviant inverted human faces did not elicit categorization. Data were best explained by a model with main effects of species and orientation. However, variance of low-level image characteristics was higher for the ape than the human category. Variance was matched to replicate this finding in an independent sample (study 2). Both human and ape faces elicited categorization in upright and inverted conditions, but upright ape faces elicited the strongest responses. Again, data were best explained by a model of two main effects. These experiments demonstrate that 9-month-olds rapidly categorize faces, and unfamiliar faces presented among human faces elicit increased categorization responses. This likely reflects habituation for the familiar standard category, and stronger release for the unfamiliar category deviants.

Comparative mapping of DNA probes derived from the V{sub k} immunoglobulin gene regions on human and great ape chromosomes by fluorescence in situ hybridization

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Arnold, N.; Wienberg, J.; Ermert, K. [Universitaet Muenchen (Germany)] [and others

1995-03-01

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of cosmid clones of human V{sub K} gene regions to human and primate chromosomes contributed to the dating of chromosome reorganizations in evolution. A clone from the K locus at 2p11-p12 (cos 106) hybridized to the assumed homologous chromosome bands in the chimpanzees Pan troglodytes (PTR) and P. paniscus (PPA), the Gorilla gorilla (GGO), and the orangutan Pongo Pygmaeus (PPY). Human and both chimpanzees differed from gorilla and orangutan by the mapping of cos 170, a clone derived from chromosome 2cen-q11.2; the transposition of this orphon to the other side of the centromere can, therefore, be dated after the human/chimpanzee and gorilla divergence. Hybridization to homologous bands was also found with a cosmid clone containing a V{sub K}I orphon located on chromosome 1 (cos 115, main signal at 1q31-q32), although the probe is not fully unique. Also, a clone derived from the orphon V{sub K} region on chromosome 22q11 (cos 121) hybridized to the homologous bands in the great apes. This indicates that the orphons on human chromosomes 1 and 22 had been translocated early in primate evolution. 18 refs., 2 figs.

Effects of Vector Backbone and Pseudotype on Lentiviral Vector-mediated Gene Transfer: Studies in Infant ADA-Deficient Mice and Rhesus Monkeys

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Carbonaro Sarracino, Denise; Tarantal, Alice F; Lee, C Chang I.; Martinez, Michele; Jin, Xiangyang; Wang, Xiaoyan; Hardee, Cinnamon L; Geiger, Sabine; Kahl, Christoph A; Kohn, Donald B

2014-01-01

Systemic delivery of a lentiviral vector carrying a therapeutic gene represents a new treatment for monogenic disease. Previously, we have shown that transfer of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) cDNA in vivo rescues the lethal phenotype and reconstitutes immune function in ADA-deficient mice. In order to translate this approach to ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency patients, neonatal ADA-deficient mice and newborn rhesus monkeys were treated with species-matched and mismatched vectors and pseudotypes. We compared gene delivery by the HIV-1-based vector to murine γ-retroviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein or murine retroviral envelopes in ADA-deficient mice. The vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotyped lentiviral vectors had the highest titer and resulted in the highest vector copy number in multiple tissues, particularly liver and lung. In monkeys, HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus vectors resulted in similar biodistribution in most tissues including bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lung. Simian immunodeficiency virus pseudotyped with the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope produced 10- to 30-fold lower titers than the vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotype, but had a similar tissue biodistribution and similar copy number in blood cells. The relative copy numbers achieved in mice and monkeys were similar when adjusted to the administered dose per kg. These results suggest that this approach can be scaled-up to clinical levels for treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency subjects with suboptimal hematopoietic stem cell transplantation options. PMID:24925206

Effects of vector backbone and pseudotype on lentiviral vector-mediated gene transfer: studies in infant ADA-deficient mice and rhesus monkeys.

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Carbonaro Sarracino, Denise; Tarantal, Alice F; Lee, C Chang I; Martinez, Michele; Jin, Xiangyang; Wang, Xiaoyan; Hardee, Cinnamon L; Geiger, Sabine; Kahl, Christoph A; Kohn, Donald B

2014-10-01

Systemic delivery of a lentiviral vector carrying a therapeutic gene represents a new treatment for monogenic disease. Previously, we have shown that transfer of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) cDNA in vivo rescues the lethal phenotype and reconstitutes immune function in ADA-deficient mice. In order to translate this approach to ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency patients, neonatal ADA-deficient mice and newborn rhesus monkeys were treated with species-matched and mismatched vectors and pseudotypes. We compared gene delivery by the HIV-1-based vector to murine γ-retroviral vectors pseudotyped with vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein or murine retroviral envelopes in ADA-deficient mice. The vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotyped lentiviral vectors had the highest titer and resulted in the highest vector copy number in multiple tissues, particularly liver and lung. In monkeys, HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus vectors resulted in similar biodistribution in most tissues including bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lung. Simian immunodeficiency virus pseudotyped with the gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope produced 10- to 30-fold lower titers than the vesicular stomatitis virus-glycoprotein pseudotype, but had a similar tissue biodistribution and similar copy number in blood cells. The relative copy numbers achieved in mice and monkeys were similar when adjusted to the administered dose per kg. These results suggest that this approach can be scaled-up to clinical levels for treatment of ADA-deficient severe combined immune deficiency subjects with suboptimal hematopoietic stem cell transplantation options.

Syntenic homology of human unique DNA sequences within chromossome regions 5q31, 10q22, 13q32-33 and 19q13.1 in the great apes

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Rhea U. Vallente-Samonte

2000-09-01

Full Text Available Homologies between chromosome banding patterns and DNA sequences in the great apes and humans suggest an apparent common origin for these two lineages. The availability of DNA probes for specific regions of human chromosomes (5q31, 10q22, 13q32-33 and 19q13.1 led us to cross-hybridize these to chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, PTR, gorilla (Gorilla gorilla, GGO and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus, PPY chromosomes in a search for equivalent regions in the great apes. Positive hybridization signals to the chromosome 5q31-specific DNA probe were observed at HSA 5q31, PTR 4q31, GGO 4q31 and PPY 4q31, while fluorescent signals using the chromosome 10q22-specific DNA probe were noted at HSA 10q22, PTR 8q22, GGO 8q22 and PPY 7q22. The chromosome arms showing hybridization signals to the Quint-EssentialTM 13-specific DNA probe were identified as HSA 13q32-33, PTR 14q32-33, GGO 14q32-33 and PPY 14q32-33, while those presenting hybridization signals to the chromosome 19q13.1-specific DNA probe were identified as HSA 19q13.1, PTR 20q13, GGO 20q13 and PPY 20q13. All four probes presumably hybridized to homologous chromosomal locations in the apes, which suggests a homology of certain unique DNA sequences among hominoid species.Homologias entre os padrões de bandamento de cromossomos e seqüências de DNA em grandes macacos e humanos sugerem uma aparente origem comum para estas duas linhagens. A disponibilidade de sondas de DNA para regiões específicas de cromossomos humanos (5q31, 10q22, 13q32-33 e 19q13.1 nos levou a realizar hibridação cruzada com cromossomos de chimpanzé (Pan troglodytes, PTR, gorila (Gorilla gorilla, GGO e orangotango (Pongo pygmaeus, PPY em um pesquisa de regiões equivalentes em grandes macacos. Sinais positivos de hibridação para a sonda de DNA específica para o cromossomo 5q31 foram observados em HSA 5q31, PTR 4q31, GGO 4q31 e PPY 4q31, enquanto que sinais fluorescentes usando a sonda de DNA específica para o cromossomo 10q22 foram

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

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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

Transcriptional Up-Regulation of APE1/Ref-1 in Hepatic Tumor: Role in Hepatocytes Resistance to Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis.

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Vittorio Di Maso

Full Text Available Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC is the fifth most frequent neoplasm worldwide and the most serious complication of long-standing chronic liver diseases (CLD. Its development is associated with chronic inflammation and sustained oxidative stress. Deregulation of apurinic apyrimidinic endonuclease 1/redox effector factor 1 (APE1/Ref-1, a master regulator of cellular response to oxidative stress, has been associated with poor prognosis in several cancers including HCC.In the present study we investigated the APE1/Ref-1 mRNA levels in cirrhotic and HCC tissues obtained during HCC resection. The possible protective role of APE1/Ref-1 against oxidative stress and apoptosis was evaluated in vitro in immortalized human hepatocytes (IHH over-expressing APE1/Ref-1.APE1/Ref-1 was up-regulated in HCC, regulation occurring at the transcriptional level. APE1/Ref-1 mRNA content increased with the progression of liver disease with the transcriptional up-regulation present in cirrhosis significantly increased in HCC. The up-regulation was higher in the less differentiated cancers. In vitro, over-expression of APE1/Ref-1 in normal hepatocytes conferred cell protection against oxidative stress and it was associated with BAX inhibition and escape from apoptosis.APE1/Ref-1 is up-regulated in HCC and this over-expression correlates with cancer aggressiveness. The up-regulation occurs at the transcriptional level and it is present in the earliest phases of hepatocarcinogenesis. The APE-1/Ref-1 over-expression is associated with hepatocyte survival and inhibits BAX activation and apoptosis. These data suggest a possible role of APE1/Ref-1 over-expression both in hepatocyte survival and HCC development calling attention to this molecule as a promising marker for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

The Brazilian Theory of Habeas Corpus for Great Apes

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Heron José de Santana Gordilho

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This essay presents a comparison between human evolution and legal developments, trying to demonstrate how darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection has caused changes in the legal world, the bridge of today some lawyers using the recent discoveries about how similar genetic between man and great primates to claim extension of human rights for chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangs. It also that many activists for animal`s rights have considered the dispute an important strategy, whether to set new means for legal institutes such as the Habeas Corpus, hitherto used only to ensure human freedom, whether to increase the movement and increase the conscietization of the general population about the importance of the recognition of animals as holders of basic rights.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Genome Editing of Monkey.

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Liu, Zhen; Cai, Yijun; Sun, Qiang

2017-01-01

Gene-modified monkey models would be particularly valuable in biomedical and neuroscience research. Virus-based transgenic and programmable nucleases-based site-specific gene editing methods (TALEN, CRISPR-cas9) enable the generation of gene-modified monkeys with gain or loss of function of specific genes. Here, we describe the generation of transgenic and knock-out (KO) monkeys with high efficiency by lentivirus and programmable nucleases.

DNA Repair and Cancer Therapy: Targeting APE1/Ref-1 Using Dietary Agents

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Julian J. Raffoul

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological studies have demonstrated the cancer protective effects of dietary agents and other natural compounds isolated from fruits, soybeans, and vegetables on neoplasia. Studies have also revealed the potential for these natural products to be combined with chemotherapy or radiotherapy for the more effective treatment of cancer. In this paper we discuss the potential for targeting the DNA base excision repair enzyme APE1/Ref-1 using dietary agents such as soy isoflavones, resveratrol, curcumin, and the vitamins ascorbate and α-tocopherol. We also discuss the potential role of soy isoflavones in sensitizing cancer cells to the effects of radiotherapy. A comprehensive review of the dual nature of APE1/Ref-1 in DNA repair and redox activation of cellular transcription factors, NF-κB and HIF-1α, is also discussed. Further research efforts dedicated to delineating the role of APE1/Ref-1 DNA repair versus redox activity in sensitizing cancer cells to conventional treatment are warranted.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease1/redox factor-1 (Ape1/Ref-1) is essential for IL-21-induced signal transduction through ERK1/2 pathway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juliana, Farha M.; Nara, Hidetoshi; Onoda, Tadashi; Rahman, Mizanur; Araki, Akemi; Jin, Lianjin; Fujii, Hodaka; Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Hoshino, Tomoaki; Asao, Hironobu

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► IL-21 induces nuclear accumulation of Ape1/Ref-1 protein. ► Ape1/Ref-1 is indispensable in IL-21-induced cell proliferation and survival signal. ► Ape1/Ref-1 is required for IL-21-induced ERK1/2 activation. -- Abstract: IL-21 is a pleiotropic cytokine that regulates T-cell and B-cell differentiation, NK-cell activation, and dendritic cell functions. IL-21 activates the JAK-STAT, ERK, and PI3K pathways. We report here that Ape1/Ref-1 has an essential role in IL-21-induced cell growth signal transduction. Overexpression of Ape1/Ref-1 enhances IL-21-induced cell proliferation, but it is suppressed by overexpressing an N-terminal deletion mutant of Ape1/Ref-1 that lacks the redox domain. Furthermore, knockdown of the Ape1/Ref-1 mRNA dramatically compromises IL-21-induced ERK1/2 activation and cell proliferation with increasing cell death. These impaired activities are recovered by the re-expression of Ape1/Ref-1 in the knockdown cells. Our findings are the first demonstration that Ape1/Ref-1 is an indispensable molecule for the IL-21-mediated signal transduction through ERK1/2 activation.

Mirror self-recognition: a review and critique of attempts to promote and engineer self-recognition in primates.

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Anderson, James R; Gallup, Gordon G

2015-10-01

We review research on reactions to mirrors and self-recognition in nonhuman primates, focusing on methodological issues. Starting with the initial demonstration in chimpanzees in 1970 and subsequent attempts to extend this to other species, self-recognition in great apes is discussed with emphasis on spontaneous manifestations of mirror-guided self-exploration as well as spontaneous use of the mirror to investigate foreign marks on otherwise nonvisible body parts-the mark test. Attempts to show self-recognition in other primates are examined with particular reference to the lack of convincing examples of spontaneous mirror-guided self-exploration, and efforts to engineer positive mark test responses by modifying the test or using conditioning techniques. Despite intensive efforts to demonstrate self-recognition in other primates, we conclude that to date there is no compelling evidence that prosimians, monkeys, or lesser apes-gibbons and siamangs-are capable of mirror self-recognition.

Newly Identified CYP2C93 Is a Functional Enzyme in Rhesus Monkey, but Not in Cynomolgus Monkey

OpenAIRE

Uno, Yasuhiro; Uehara, Shotaro; Kohara, Sakae; Iwasaki, Kazuhide; Nagata, Ryoichi; Fukuzaki, Koichiro; Utoh, Masahiro; Murayama, Norie; Yamazaki, Hiroshi

2011-01-01

Cynomolgus monkey and rhesus monkey are used in drug metabolism studies due to their evolutionary closeness and physiological resemblance to human. In cynomolgus monkey, we previously identified cytochrome P450 (P450 or CYP) 2C76 that does not have a human ortholog and is partly responsible for species differences in drug metabolism between cynomolgus monkey and human. In this study, we report characterization of CYP2C93 cDNA newly identified in cynomolgus monkey and rhesus monkey. The CYP2C9...

A comparative analysis of temporomandibular joint morphology in the African apes.

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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

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

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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.

Milk composition of captive vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) with observations on gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and white handed gibbon (Hylobates lar).

Science.gov (United States)

Osthoff, G; Hugo, A; de Wit, M; Nguyen, T P M; Seier, J

2009-04-01

The nutrient content and fatty acid composition of vervet monkey milk has been determined and is compared with rhesus macaque, and two hominoid apes, the white handed gibbon and gorilla. With 15.7+/-4.1 g protein, 33.1+/-9.4 g fat, and 85.1+/-7.5 g lactose per kg milk, vervet monkey milk does not differ from that of rhesus macaque, and is within the range of other primates. Small amounts (>1 g kg(-1)) of oligosaccharides, glucose, galactose and fucose were noted. In comparison, gorilla milk has a low fat content of 13.8 g kg(-1), but contains high levels of oligosaccharides at 7.0 g kg(-1) milk. The hominoid partner, the white handed gibbon, contains no oligosaccharides and a milk fat content similar to other hominoid species. Differences between vervet monkey and rhesus macaque milks were observed in the electrophoretic pattern of the milk proteins, mainly amongst the kappa- and gamma-caseins, which also differ from that of the hominids. The fatty acid contents of these milks differ from studies where a natural diet of leafy material was available in that a low content of alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) was noted. A phylogenetic effect is observed for the content of 8:0, 10:0 fatty acids between the Cercopithecidae and Hominoidea, and a further phylogenetic effect suggested between the Hylobatidae and Hominidae.

Masticatory form and function in the African apes.

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Taylor, Andrea B

2002-02-01

This study examines variability in masticatory morphology as a function of dietary preference among the African apes. The African apes differ in the degree to which they consume leaves and other fibrous vegetation. Gorilla gorilla beringei, the eastern mountain gorilla, consumes the most restricted diet comprised of mechanically resistant foods such as leaves, pith, bark, and bamboo. Gorilla gorilla gorilla, the western lowland gorilla subspecies, consumes leaves and other terrestrial herbaceous vegetation (THV) but also consumes a fair amount of ripe, fleshy fruit. In contrast to gorillas, chimpanzees are frugivores and rely on vegetation primarily as fallback foods. However, there has been a long-standing debate regarding whether Pan paniscus, the pygmy chimpanzee (or bonobo), consumes greater quantities of THV as compared to Pan troglodytes, the common chimpanzee. Because consumption of resistant foods involves more daily chewing cycles and may require larger average bite force, the mechanical demands placed on the masticatory system are expected to be greater in folivores as compared to primates that consume large quantities of fleshy fruit. Therefore, more folivorous taxa are predicted to exhibit features that improve load-resistance capabilities and increase force production. To test this hypothesis, jaw and skull dimensions were compared in ontogenetic series of G. g. beringei, G. g. gorilla, P. t. troglodytes, and P. paniscus. Controlling for the influence of allometry, results show that compared to both chimpanzees and bonobos, gorillas exhibit some features of the jaw complex that are suggestive of improved masticatory efficiency. For example, compared to all other taxa, G. g. beringei has a significantly wider mandibular corpus and symphysis, larger area for the masseter muscle, higher mandibular ramus, and higher mandibular condyle relative to the occlusal plane of the mandible. However, the significantly wider mandibular symphysis may be an

dAPE: a web server to detect homorepeats and follow their evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Mier, Pablo; Andrade-Navarro, Miguel A

2017-04-15

Homorepeats are low complexity regions consisting of repetitions of a single amino acid residue. There is no current consensus on the minimum number of residues needed to define a functional homorepeat, nor even if mismatches are allowed. Here we present dAPE, a web server that helps following the evolution of homorepeats based on orthology information, using a sensitive but tunable cutoff to help in the identification of emerging homorepeats. dAPE can be accessed from http://cbdm-01.zdv.uni-mainz.de/∼munoz/polyx . munoz@uni-mainz.de. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Conserved structural chemistry for incision activity in structurally non-homologous apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE1 and endonuclease IV DNA repair enzymes.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsutakawa, Susan E.; Shin, David S.; Mol, Clifford D.; Izum, Tadahide; Arvai, Andrew S.; Mantha, Anil K.; Szczesny, Bartosz; Ivanov, Ivaylo N.; Hosfield, David J.; Maiti, Buddhadev; Pique, Mike E.; Frankel, Kenneth A.; Hitomi, Kenichi; Cunningham, Richard P.; Mitra, Sankar; Tainer, John A.

2013-03-22

Non-coding apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in DNA form spontaneously and as DNA base excision repair intermediates are the most common toxic and mutagenic in vivo DNA lesion. For repair, AP sites must be processed by 5' AP endonucleases in initial stages of base repair. Human APE1 and bacterial Nfo represent the two conserved 5' AP endonuclease families in the biosphere; they both recognize AP sites and incise the phosphodiester backbone 5' to the lesion, yet they lack similar structures and metal ion requirements. Here, we determined and analyzed crystal structures of a 2.4 ? resolution APE1-DNA product complex with Mg(2+) and a 0.92 Nfo with three metal ions. Structural and biochemical comparisons of these two evolutionarily distinct enzymes characterize key APE1 catalytic residues that are potentially functionally similar to Nfo active site components, as further tested and supported by computational analyses. We observe a magnesium-water cluster in the APE1 active site, with only Glu-96 forming the direct protein coordination to the Mg(2+). Despite differences in structure and metal requirements of APE1 and Nfo, comparison of their active site structures surprisingly reveals strong geometric conservation of the catalytic reaction, with APE1 catalytic side chains positioned analogously to Nfo metal positions, suggesting surprising functional equivalence between Nfo metal ions and APE1 residues. The finding that APE1 residues are positioned to substitute for Nfo metal ions is supported by the impact of mutations on activity. Collectively, the results illuminate the activities of residues, metal ions, and active site features for abasic site endonucleases.

Full-length cDNA sequences from Rhesus monkey placenta tissue: analysis and utility for comparative mapping

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Lee Sang-Rae

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta are widely-used as experimental animals in biomedical research and are closely related to other laboratory macaques, such as cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis, and to humans, sharing a last common ancestor from about 25 million years ago. Although rhesus monkeys have been studied extensively under field and laboratory conditions, research has been limited by the lack of genetic resources. The present study generated placenta full-length cDNA libraries, characterized the resulting expressed sequence tags, and described their utility for comparative mapping with human RefSeq mRNA transcripts. Results From rhesus monkey placenta full-length cDNA libraries, 2000 full-length cDNA sequences were determined and 1835 rhesus placenta cDNA sequences longer than 100 bp were collected. These sequences were annotated based on homology to human genes. Homology search against human RefSeq mRNAs revealed that our collection included the sequences of 1462 putative rhesus monkey genes. Moreover, we identified 207 genes containing exon alterations in the coding region and the untranslated region of rhesus monkey transcripts, despite the highly conserved structure of the coding regions. Approximately 10% (187 of all full-length cDNA sequences did not represent any public human RefSeq mRNAs. Intriguingly, two rhesus monkey specific exons derived from the transposable elements of AluYRa2 (SINE family and MER11B (LTR family were also identified. Conclusion The 1835 rhesus monkey placenta full-length cDNA sequences described here could expand genomic resources and information of rhesus monkeys. This increased genomic information will greatly contribute to the development of evolutionary biology and biomedical research.

Cup tool use by squirrel monkeys.

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Buckmaster, Christine L; Hyde, Shellie A; Parker, Karen J; Lyons, David M

2015-12-01

Captive-born male and female squirrel monkeys spontaneously 'invented' a cup tool use technique to Contain (i.e., hold and control) food they reduced into fragments for consumption and to Contain water collected from a valve to drink. Food cup use was observed more frequently than water cup use. Observations indicate that 68% (n = 39/57) of monkeys in this population used a cup (a plastic slip cap) to Contain food, and a subset of these monkeys, 10% (n = 4/39), also used a cup to Contain water. Cup use was optional and did not replace, but supplemented, the hand/arm-to-mouth eating and direct valve drinking exhibited by all members of the population. Strategies monkeys used to bring food and cups together for food processing activity at preferred upper-level perching areas, in the arboreal-like environment in which they lived, provides evidence that monkeys may plan food processing activity with the cups. Specifically, prior to cup use monkeys obtained a cup first before food, or obtained food and a cup from the floor simultaneously, before transporting both items to upper-level perching areas. After food processing activity with cups monkeys rarely dropped the cups and more often placed the cups onto perching. Monkeys subsequently returned to use cups that they previously placed on perching after food processing activity. The latter behavior is consistent with the possibility that monkeys may keep cups at preferred perching sites for future food processing activity and merits experimental investigation. Reports of spontaneous tool use by squirrel monkeys are rare and this is the first report of population-level tool use. These findings offer insights into the cognitive abilities of squirrel monkeys and provide a new context for behavior studies with this genus and for comparative studies with other primates. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Steady State Great Ape? Long Term Isotopic Records Reveal the Effects of Season, Social Rank and Reproductive Status on Bonobo Feeding Behavior

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Oelze, Vicky M.; Douglas, Pamela Heidi; Stephens, Colleen R.; Surbeck, Martin; Behringer, Verena; Richards, Michael P.; Fruth, Barbara; Hohmann, Gottfried

2016-01-01

Dietary ecology of extant great apes is known to respond to environmental conditions such as climate and food availability, but also to vary depending on social status and life history characteristics. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) live under comparatively steady ecological conditions in the evergreen rainforests of the Congo Basin. Bonobos are an ideal species for investigating influences of sociodemographic and physiological factors, such as female reproductive status, on diet. We investigate the long term dietary pattern in wild but fully habituated bonobos by stable isotope analysis in hair and integrating a variety of long-term sociodemographic information obtained through observations. We analyzed carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in 432 hair sections obtained from 101 non-invasively collected hair samples. These samples represented the dietary behavior of 23 adult bonobos from 2008 through 2010. By including isotope and crude protein data from plants we could establish an isotope baseline and interpret the results of several general linear mixed models using the predictors climate, sex, social rank, reproductive state of females, adult age and age of infants. We found that low canopy foliage is a useful isotopic tracer for tropical rainforest settings, and consumption of terrestrial herbs best explains the temporal isotope patterns we found in carbon isotope values of bonobo hair. Only the diet of male bonobos was affected by social rank, with lower nitrogen isotope values in low-ranking young males. Female isotope values mainly differed between different stages of reproduction (cycling, pregnancy, lactation). These isotopic differences appear to be related to changes in dietary preference during pregnancy (high protein diet) and lactation (high energy diet), which allow to compensate for different nutritional needs during maternal investment. PMID:27626279

Histological features of layers and sublayers in cortical visual areas V1 and V2 of chimpanzees, macaque monkeys, and humans.

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Balaram, Pooja; Young, Nicole A; Kaas, Jon H

2014-09-01

The layers and sublayers of primary visual cortex, or V1, in primates are easily distinguishable compared to those in other cortical areas, and are especially distinct in anthropoid primates - monkeys, apes, and humans - where they also vary in histological appearance. This variation in primate-specific specialization has led to a longstanding confusion over the identity of layer 4 and its proposed sublayers in V1. As the application of different histological markers relate to the issue of defining and identifying layers and sublayers, we applied four traditional and four more recent histological markers to brain sections of V1 and adjoining secondary visual cortex (V2) in macaque monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans in order to compare identifiable layers and sublayers in both cortical areas across these species. The use of Nissl, neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN), Gallyas myelin, cytochrome oxidase (CO), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), nonphosphorylated neurofilament H (SMI-32), parvalbumin (PV), and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) preparations support the conclusion that the most popular scheme of V1 lamination, that of Brodmann, misidentifies sublayers of layer 3 (3Bβ and 3C) as sublayers of layer 4 (4A and 4B), and that the specialized sublayer of layer 3 in monkeys, 3Bβ, is not present in humans. These differences in interpretation are important as they relate to the proposed functions of layer 4 in primate species, where layer 4 of V1 is a layer that receives and processes information from the visual thalamus, and layer 3 is a layer that transforms and distributes information to other cortical areas.

APE1 incision activity at abasic sites in tandem repeat sequences.

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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.

Role of the XRCC1 - APE1 interaction in the maintenance of genetic stability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sossou-Becker, M.

2005-09-01

This thesis is divided in four chapters: the first one concerns the genetic instability, the second one is devoted to the DNA repair, the third one is related to the XRCC1 and the chapter four concerns APE1. Then, are defined the objectives and the results. This work fits into the studies of repair mechanisms. The physical and functional characterisation of the interaction between XRCC1 and APE1 allowed to understand its involvement in the prevention of the genetic instability at the origin of cancer. (N.C.)

Neuronal factors determining high intelligence.

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Dicke, Ursula; Roth, Gerhard

2016-01-05

Many attempts have been made to correlate degrees of both animal and human intelligence with brain properties. With respect to mammals, a much-discussed trait concerns absolute and relative brain size, either uncorrected or corrected for body size. However, the correlation of both with degrees of intelligence yields large inconsistencies, because although they are regarded as the most intelligent mammals, monkeys and apes, including humans, have neither the absolutely nor the relatively largest brains. The best fit between brain traits and degrees of intelligence among mammals is reached by a combination of the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity--factors that determine general information processing capacity (IPC), as reflected by general intelligence. The highest IPC is found in humans, followed by the great apes, Old World and New World monkeys. The IPC of cetaceans and elephants is much lower because of a thin cortex, low neuron packing density and low axonal conduction velocity. By contrast, corvid and psittacid birds have very small and densely packed pallial neurons and relatively many neurons, which, despite very small brain volumes, might explain their high intelligence. The evolution of a syntactical and grammatical language in humans most probably has served as an additional intelligence amplifier, which may have happened in songbirds and psittacids in a convergent manner. © 2015 The Author(s).

Victims Themselves of a Close Encounter: On the Sensory Language and Bass Fiction of Space Ape (In Memoriam

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tobias c. van Veen

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This text is written in memoriam to dubstep emcee and poet Space Ape (Stephen Samuel Gordon, b. June 17th, 1970; d. October 2nd, 2014. By his own words, Space Ape arose from the depths of the black Atlantic, on a mission to relieve the “pressure” through bass fiction. My aim is to explicate Space Ape’s bass fiction as the intersection of material and imaginal forces, connecting it to a broader Afrofuturist constellation of mythopoetic becomings. Memory and matter converge in the affect and sounding of Space Ape the “hostile alien” (“Space Ape”, Burial, 2006, a figure shaped at the intersection of the dread body, riddim warfare, and speculative lyricism. Space Ape set out to “xorcise” that which consumed him from within by embracing the “spirit of change”. Turning to process philosophy, I demonstrate how Space Ape’s bass fiction—his virtual body—activates the abstract concepts of becoming in the “close encounter” with the hostile alien.

Spontaneous Metacognition in Rhesus Monkeys.

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Rosati, Alexandra G; Santos, Laurie R

2016-09-01

Metacognition is the ability to think about thinking. Although monitoring and controlling one's knowledge is a key feature of human cognition, its evolutionary origins are debated. In the current study, we examined whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta; N = 120) could make metacognitive inferences in a one-shot decision. Each monkey experienced one of four conditions, observing a human appearing to hide a food reward in an apparatus consisting of either one or two tubes. The monkeys tended to search the correct location when they observed this baiting event, but engaged in information seeking-by peering into a center location where they could check both potential hiding spots-if their view had been occluded and information seeking was possible. The monkeys only occasionally approached the center when information seeking was not possible. These results show that monkeys spontaneously use information about their own knowledge states to solve naturalistic foraging problems, and thus provide the first evidence that nonhumans exhibit information-seeking responses in situations with which they have no prior experience. © The Author(s) 2016.

Vicarious learning from human models in monkeys.

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Falcone, Rossella; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Genovesio, Aldo

2012-01-01

We examined whether monkeys can learn by observing a human model, through vicarious learning. Two monkeys observed a human model demonstrating an object-reward association and consuming food found underneath an object. The monkeys observed human models as they solved more than 30 learning problems. For each problem, the human models made a choice between two objects, one of which concealed a piece of apple. In the test phase afterwards, the monkeys made a choice of their own. Learning was apparent from the first trial of the test phase, confirming the ability of monkeys to learn by vicarious observation of human models.

Newly identified CYP2C93 is a functional enzyme in rhesus monkey, but not in cynomolgus monkey.

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Yasuhiro Uno

Full Text Available Cynomolgus monkey and rhesus monkey are used in drug metabolism studies due to their evolutionary closeness and physiological resemblance to human. In cynomolgus monkey, we previously identified cytochrome P450 (P450 or CYP 2C76 that does not have a human ortholog and is partly responsible for species differences in drug metabolism between cynomolgus monkey and human. In this study, we report characterization of CYP2C93 cDNA newly identified in cynomolgus monkey and rhesus monkey. The CYP2C93 cDNA contained an open reading frame of 490 amino acids approximately 84-86% identical to human CYP2Cs. CYP2C93 was located in the genomic region, which corresponded to the intergenic region in the human genome, indicating that CYP2C93 does not correspond to any human genes. CYP2C93 mRNA was expressed predominantly in the liver among 10 tissues analyzed. The CYP2C93 proteins heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli metabolized human CYP2C substrates, diclofenac, flurbiprofen, paclitaxel, S-mephenytoin, and tolbutamide. In addition to a normal transcript (SV1, an aberrantly spliced transcript (SV2 lacking exon 2 was identified, which did not give rise to a functional protein due to frameshift and a premature termination codon. Mini gene assay revealed that the genetic variant IVS2-1G>T at the splice site of intron 1, at least partly, accounted for the exon-2 skipping; therefore, this genotype would influence CYP2C93-mediated drug metabolism. SV1 was expressed in 6 of 11 rhesus monkeys and 1 of 8 cynomolgus monkeys, but the SV1 in the cynomolgus monkey was nonfunctional due to a rare null genotype (c.102T>del. These results suggest that CYP2C93 can play roles as a drug-metabolizing enzyme in rhesus monkeys (not in cynomolgus monkeys, although its relative contribution to drug metabolism has yet to be validated.

Histological features of layers and sublayers in cortical visual areas V1 and V2 of chimpanzees, macaque monkeys, and humans

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Balaram P

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Pooja Balaram, Nicole A Young, Jon H Kaas Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA Abstract: The layers and sublayers of primary visual cortex, or V1, in primates are easily distinguishable compared to those in other cortical areas, and are especially distinct in anthropoid primates – monkeys, apes, and humans – where they also vary in histological appearance. This variation in primate-specific specialization has led to a longstanding confusion over the identity of layer 4 and its proposed sublayers in V1. As the application of different histological markers relate to the issue of defining and identifying layers and sublayers, we applied four traditional and four more recent histological markers to brain sections of V1 and adjoining secondary visual cortex (V2 in macaque monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans in order to compare identifiable layers and sublayers in both cortical areas across these species. The use of Nissl, neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN, Gallyas myelin, cytochrome oxidase (CO, acetylcholinesterase (AChE, nonphosphorylated neurofilament H (SMI-32, parvalbumin (PV, and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2 preparations support the conclusion that the most popular scheme of V1 lamination, that of Brodmann, misidentifies sublayers of layer 3 (3Bβ and 3C as sublayers of layer 4 (4A and 4B, and that the specialized sublayer of layer 3 in monkeys, 3Bβ, is not present in humans. These differences in interpretation are important as they relate to the proposed functions of layer 4 in primate species, where layer 4 of V1 is a layer that receives and processes information from the visual thalamus, and layer 3 is a layer that transforms and distributes information to other cortical areas. Keywords: area 17, area 18, cortical layers, histology, immunohistochemistry

Vicarious learning from human models in monkeys.

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Rossella Falcone

Full Text Available We examined whether monkeys can learn by observing a human model, through vicarious learning. Two monkeys observed a human model demonstrating an object-reward association and consuming food found underneath an object. The monkeys observed human models as they solved more than 30 learning problems. For each problem, the human models made a choice between two objects, one of which concealed a piece of apple. In the test phase afterwards, the monkeys made a choice of their own. Learning was apparent from the first trial of the test phase, confirming the ability of monkeys to learn by vicarious observation of human models.

Get the Monkey off Your Back

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Ciabattini, David; Custer, Timothy J.

2008-01-01

Monkeys are the problems that need solutions, the tasks that need to be accomplished, the decisions that need to be made, and the actions that need to be taken. According to a theory, people carry monkeys around on their backs until they can successfully shift their burden to someone else and the monkey leaps from one back to the next. Managers…

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.

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Laura Cesaratto

Full Text Available 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.

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

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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

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

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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.

Analysis of prostate-specific antigen transcripts in chimpanzees, cynomolgus monkeys, baboons, and African green monkeys.

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James N Mubiru

Full Text Available The function of prostate-specific antigen (PSA is to liquefy the semen coagulum so that the released sperm can fuse with the ovum. Fifteen spliced variants of the PSA gene have been reported in humans, but little is known about alternative splicing in nonhuman primates. Positive selection has been reported in sex- and reproductive-related genes from sea urchins to Drosophila to humans; however, there are few studies of adaptive evolution of the PSA gene. Here, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR product cloning and sequencing, we study PSA transcript variant heterogeneity in the prostates of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis, baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis, and African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops. Six PSA variants were identified in the chimpanzee prostate, but only two variants were found in cynomolgus monkeys, baboons, and African green monkeys. In the chimpanzee the full-length transcript is expressed at the same magnitude as the transcripts that retain intron 3. We have found previously unidentified splice variants of the PSA gene, some of which might be linked to disease conditions. Selection on the PSA gene was studied in 11 primate species by computational methods using the sequences reported here for African green monkey, cynomolgus monkey, baboon, and chimpanzee and other sequences available in public databases. A codon-based analysis (dN/dS of the PSA gene identified potential adaptive evolution at five residue sites (Arg45, Lys70, Gln144, Pro189, and Thr203.

Vicarious Learning from Human Models in Monkeys

OpenAIRE

Falcone, Rossella; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Genovesio, Aldo

2012-01-01

We examined whether monkeys can learn by observing a human model, through vicarious learning. Two monkeys observed a human model demonstrating an object-reward association and consuming food found underneath an object. The monkeys observed human models as they solved more than 30 learning problems. For each problem, the human models made a choice between two objects, one of which concealed a piece of apple. In the test phase afterwards, the monkeys made a choice of their own. Learning was app...

Comparative plasma lipidome between human and cynomolgus monkey: are plasma polar lipids good biomarkers for diabetic monkeys?

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Guanghou Shui

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Non-human primates (NHP are now being considered as models for investigating human metabolic diseases including diabetes. Analyses of cholesterol and triglycerides in plasma derived from NHPs can easily be achieved using methods employed in humans. Information pertaining to other lipid species in monkey plasma, however, is lacking and requires comprehensive experimental analysis. METHODOLOGIES/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We examined the plasma lipidome from 16 cynomolgus monkey, Macaca fascicularis, using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS. We established novel analytical approaches, which are based on a simple gradient elution, to quantify polar lipids in plasma including (i glycerophospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, PC; phosphatidylethanolamine, PE; phosphatidylinositol, PI; phosphatidylglycerol, PG; phosphatidylserine, PS; phosphatidic acid, PA; (ii sphingolipids (sphingomyelin, SM; ceramide, Cer; Glucocyl-ceramide, GluCer; ganglioside mannoside 3, GM3. Lipidomic analysis had revealed that the plasma of human and cynomolgus monkey were of similar compositions, with PC, SM, PE, LPC and PI constituting the major polar lipid species present. Human plasma contained significantly higher levels of plasmalogen PE species (p<0.005 and plasmalogen PC species (p<0.0005, while cynomolgus monkey had higher levels of polyunsaturated fatty acyls (PUFA in PC, PE, PS and PI. Notably, cynomolgus monkey had significantly lower levels of glycosphingolipids, including GluCer (p<0.0005 and GM(3 (p<0.0005, but higher level of Cer (p<0.0005 in plasma than human. We next investigated the biochemical alterations in blood lipids of 8 naturally occurring diabetic cynomolgus monkeys when compared with 8 healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we demonstrated that the plasma of human and cynomolgus monkey were of similar compositions, but contained different mol distribution of individual molecular species. Diabetic monkeys

Language comprehension in ape and child.

Science.gov (United States)

Savage-Rumbaugh, E S; Murphy, J; Sevcik, R A; Brakke, K E; Williams, S L; Rumbaugh, D M

1993-01-01

Previous investigations of the linguistic capacities of apes have focused on the ape's ability to produce words, and there has been little concern for comprehension. By contrast, it is increasingly recognized that comprehension precedes production in the language development of normal human children, and it may indeed guide production. It has been demonstrated that some species can process speech sounds categorically in a manner similar to that observed in humans. Consequently, it should be possible for such species to comprehend language if they have the cognitive capacity to understand word-referent relations and syntactic structure. Popular theories of human language acquisition suggest that the ability to process syntactic information is unique to humans and reflects a novel biological adaptation not seen in other animals. The current report addresses this issue through systematic experimental comparisons of the language comprehension skills of a 2-year-old child and an 8 year-old bonobo (Pan paniscus) who was raised in a language environment similar to that in which children are raised but specifically modified to be appropriate for an ape. Both subjects (child and bonobo) were exposed to spoken English and lexigrams from infancy, and neither was trained to comprehend speech. A common caretaker participated in the rearing of both subjects. All language acquisition was through observational learning. Without prior training, subjects were asked to respond to the same 660 novel sentences. All responses were videotaped and scored for accuracy of comprehension of the English language. The results indicated that both subjects comprehended novel requests and simple syntactic devices. The bonobo decoded the syntactic device of word recursion with higher accuracy than the child; however, the child tended to do better than the bonobo on the conjunctive, a structure that places a greater burden on short-term memory. Both subjects performed as well on sentences that

Identification and characterization of inhibitors of human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease APE1.

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Anton Simeonov

2009-06-01

Full Text Available APE1 is the major nuclease for excising abasic (AP sites and particular 3'-obstructive termini from DNA, and is an integral participant in the base excision repair (BER pathway. BER capacity plays a prominent role in dictating responsiveness to agents that generate oxidative or alkylation DNA damage, as well as certain chain-terminating nucleoside analogs and 5-fluorouracil. We describe within the development of a robust, 1536-well automated screening assay that employs a deoxyoligonucleotide substrate operating in the red-shifted fluorescence spectral region to identify APE1 endonuclease inhibitors. This AP site incision assay was used in a titration-based high-throughput screen of the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC(1280, a collection of well-characterized, drug-like molecules representing all major target classes. Prioritized hits were authenticated and characterized via two high-throughput screening assays -- a Thiazole Orange fluorophore-DNA displacement test and an E. coli endonuclease IV counterscreen -- and a conventional, gel-based radiotracer incision assay. The top, validated compounds, i.e. 6-hydroxy-DL-DOPA, Reactive Blue 2 and myricetin, were shown to inhibit AP site cleavage activity of whole cell protein extracts from HEK 293T and HeLa cell lines, and to enhance the cytotoxic and genotoxic potency of the alkylating agent methylmethane sulfonate. The studies herein report on the identification of novel, small molecule APE1-targeted bioactive inhibitor probes, which represent initial chemotypes towards the development of potential pharmaceuticals.

Investigating the structural impacts of I64T and P311S mutations in APE1-DNA complex: a molecular dynamics approach.

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C George Priya Doss

Full Text Available 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.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.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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Primate social attention: Species differences and effects of individual experience in humans, great apes, and macaques.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fumihiro Kano

Full Text Available When viewing social scenes, humans and nonhuman primates focus on particular features, such as the models' eyes, mouth, and action targets. Previous studies reported that such viewing patterns vary significantly across individuals in humans, and also across closely-related primate species. However, the nature of these individual and species differences remains unclear, particularly among nonhuman primates. In large samples of human and nonhuman primates, we examined species differences and the effects of experience on patterns of gaze toward social movies. Experiment 1 examined the species differences across rhesus macaques, nonhuman apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, and orangutans, and humans while they viewed movies of various animals' species-typical behaviors. We found that each species had distinct viewing patterns of the models' faces, eyes, mouths, and action targets. Experiment 2 tested the effect of individuals' experience on chimpanzee and human viewing patterns. We presented movies depicting natural behaviors of chimpanzees to three groups of chimpanzees (individuals from a zoo, a sanctuary, and a research institute differing in their early social and physical experiences. We also presented the same movies to human adults and children differing in their expertise with chimpanzees (experts vs. novices or movie-viewing generally (adults vs. preschoolers. Individuals varied within each species in their patterns of gaze toward models' faces, eyes, mouths, and action targets depending on their unique individual experiences. We thus found that the viewing patterns for social stimuli are both individual- and species-specific in these closely-related primates. Such individual/species-specificities are likely related to both individual experience and species-typical temperament, suggesting that primate individuals acquire their unique attentional biases through both ontogeny and evolution. Such unique attentional biases may help them learn

Primate social attention: Species differences and effects of individual experience in humans, great apes, and macaques.

Science.gov (United States)

Kano, Fumihiro; Shepherd, Stephen V; Hirata, Satoshi; Call, Josep

2018-01-01

When viewing social scenes, humans and nonhuman primates focus on particular features, such as the models' eyes, mouth, and action targets. Previous studies reported that such viewing patterns vary significantly across individuals in humans, and also across closely-related primate species. However, the nature of these individual and species differences remains unclear, particularly among nonhuman primates. In large samples of human and nonhuman primates, we examined species differences and the effects of experience on patterns of gaze toward social movies. Experiment 1 examined the species differences across rhesus macaques, nonhuman apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, and orangutans), and humans while they viewed movies of various animals' species-typical behaviors. We found that each species had distinct viewing patterns of the models' faces, eyes, mouths, and action targets. Experiment 2 tested the effect of individuals' experience on chimpanzee and human viewing patterns. We presented movies depicting natural behaviors of chimpanzees to three groups of chimpanzees (individuals from a zoo, a sanctuary, and a research institute) differing in their early social and physical experiences. We also presented the same movies to human adults and children differing in their expertise with chimpanzees (experts vs. novices) or movie-viewing generally (adults vs. preschoolers). Individuals varied within each species in their patterns of gaze toward models' faces, eyes, mouths, and action targets depending on their unique individual experiences. We thus found that the viewing patterns for social stimuli are both individual- and species-specific in these closely-related primates. Such individual/species-specificities are likely related to both individual experience and species-typical temperament, suggesting that primate individuals acquire their unique attentional biases through both ontogeny and evolution. Such unique attentional biases may help them learn efficiently about their

What Do Monkey Calls Mean?

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Philippe; Chemla, Emmanuel; Zuberbühler, Klaus

2016-12-01

A field of primate linguistics is gradually emerging. It combines general questions and tools from theoretical linguistics with rich data gathered in experimental primatology. Analyses of several monkey systems have uncovered very simple morphological and syntactic rules and have led to the development of a primate semantics that asks new questions about the division of semantic labor between the literal meaning of monkey calls, additional mechanisms of pragmatic enrichment, and the environmental context. We show that comparative studies across species may validate this program and may in some cases help in reconstructing the evolution of monkey communication over millions of years. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ape metaphysics: object individuation without language.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendes, Natacha; Rakoczy, Hannes; Call, Josep

2008-02-01

Developmental research suggests that whereas very young infants individuate objects purely on spatiotemporal grounds, from (at latest) around 1 year of age children are capable of individuating objects according to the kind they belong to and the properties they instantiate. As the latter ability has been found to correlate with language, some have speculated whether it might be essentially language dependent and therefore uniquely human. Existing studies with non-human primates seem to speak against this hypothesis, but fail to present conclusive evidence due to methodological shortcomings. In the present experiments we set out to test non-linguistic object individuation in three great ape species with a refined manual search methodology. Experiment 1 tested for spatiotemporal object individuation: Subjects saw 1 or 2 objects simultaneously being placed inside a box in which they could reach, and then in both conditions only found 1 object. After retrieval of the 1 object, subjects reached again significantly more often when they had seen 2 than when they had seen 1 object. Experiment 2 tested for object individuation according to property/kind information only: Subjects saw 1 object being placed inside the box, and then either found that object (expected) or an object of a different kind (unexpected). Analogously to Experiment 1, after retrieval of the 1 object, subjects reached again significantly more often in the unexpected than in the expected condition. These results thus confirm previous findings suggesting that individuating objects according to their property/kind is neither uniquely human nor essentially language dependent. It remains to be seen, however, whether this kind of object individuation requires sortal concepts as human linguistic thinkers use them, or whether some simpler form of tracking properties is sufficient.

Primater emellan. En läsning av Henry Drummonds berättelse ”Apan som ingen kunde döda”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelie Björck

2013-05-01

Full Text Available ”The anthropocentric primate. A species discursive reading of the story ‘The monkey that would not kill.’” In children's literature nonhuman primates are often represented either as ferocious beasts or as curios and charmful vicarious children. In this article I demonstrate how these different constructions interestingly coexist in the popular story ”The monkey that would not kill”, written by the Scottish evangelist and professor of the natural sciences Henry Drummond in 1891. My study anchors the figuration of the monstrous ape historically in a Christian discourse and the figuration of the childlike ape in a zoological discourse, and link them to the literary genres of horror and comedy, respectively. Both of the figurations are anthropocentric in their reductive ways of representing the ape as strange enemy or subordinate ”friend”: they confirm the hierarchic dualism between man and ape. My reading also points out the excessive passion that characterizes the meeting between the species in the story, as a kind of leakage from the dualism. In light of Giorgio Agamben's concept of the ”anthropological machine”, I conclude the article reflecting on the human shepherd's energetic attempts to kill the animal not only as an act of domination, but also as bearing witness to the obsession with ”experimenting” with other primates, in order to consolidate a human species identity.

apeNEXT A Multi-Tflops LQCD Computing Project

CERN Document Server

Alfieri, R; Onofri, E.; Bartoloni, A.; Battista, C.; Cabibbo, N.; Cosimi, M.; Lonardo, A.; Michelotti, A.; Rapuano, F.; Proietti, B.; Rossetti, D.; Sacco, G.; Tassa, S.; Torelli, M.; Vicini, P.; Boucaud, Philippe; Pene, O.; Errico, W.; Magazzu, G.; Sartori, L.; Schifano, F.; Tripiccione, R.; De Riso, P.; Petronzio, R.; Destri, C.; Frezzotti, R.; Marchesini, G.; Gensch, U.; Kretzschmann, A.; Leich, H.; Paschedag, N.; Schwendicke, U.; Simma, H.; Sommer, R.; Sulanke, K.; Wegner, P.; Pleiter, D.; Jansen, K.; Fucci, A.; Martin, B.; Pech, J.; Panizzi, E.; Petricola, A.

2001-01-01

This paper is a slightly modified and reduced version of the proposal of the {\\bf apeNEXT} project, which was submitted to DESY and INFN in spring 2000. .It presents the basic motivations and ideas of a next generation lattice QCD (LQCD) computing project, whose goal is the construction and operation of several large scale Multi-TFlops LQCD engines, providing an integrated peak performance of tens of TFlops, and a sustained (double precision) performance on key LQCD kernels of about 50% of peak speed.

Epidurography with metrizamide in Rhesus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kido, D.K.; Baker, R.A.; Saubermann, A.; Salem, J.; Schoene, W.C.; Fournier, P.

1980-01-01

Epidurography with metrizamide was performed on 9 Rhesus monkeys; physiologic saline was substituted for metrizamide in 3 control monkeys. Metrizamide successfully outlined the epidural space without causing any adverse clinical effects or direct tissue injury. (Auth.)

Steroid metabolism by monkey and human spermatozoa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajalakshmi, M.; Sehgal, A.; Pruthi, J.S.; Anand-Kumar, T.C.

1983-01-01

Freshly ejaculated spermatozoa from monkey and human were washed and incubated with tritium labelled androgens or estradiol to study the pattern of spermatozoa steroid metabolism. When equal concentrations of steroid substrates were used for incubation, monkey and human spermatozoa showed very similar pattern of steroid conversion. Spermatozoa from both species converted testosterone mainly to androstenedione, but reverse conversion of androstenedione to testosterone was negligible. Estradiol-17 beta was converted mainly to estrone. The close similarity between the spermatozoa of monkey and men in their steroid metabolic pattern indicates that the rhesus monkey could be an useful animal model to study the effect of drugs on the metabolic pattern of human spermatozoa

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

jfewr ©2016 - jfewr Publications

African Journals Online (AJOL)

JOHNSON

Papio anubis) ... The primate is one of the highest order of ... apes, monkeys and prosimians. .... diverse number of small and large .... Table 1: Comparative Analysis of Activity Budgets Across Months in the .... an improvement in the quality, quantity.

Placental Transport of Zidovudine in the Rhesus Monkey

OpenAIRE

Ridgway III, Louis E.; King, Thomas S.; Henderson, George I.; Schenker, Steven; Schenken, Robert S.

1993-01-01

Objective: This study was undertaken to characterize the pharmacokinetics of zidovudine (ZDV) and ZDV-glucuronide (ZDVG) in the material and :fetal circulations of the rhesus monkey. Methods: Cannulas were placed in the maternal external jugular and the fetal internal jugular and carotid artery in 8 pregnant monkeys at .120–130 days gestation. ZDV (3.5 mg/kg) was administered to 5 monkeys and ZDVG (3.5 mg/kg) to 3 monkeys as single intravenous bolus infusions through the maternal catheter. Ma...

A novel role for Gadd45α in base excision repair: Modulation of APE1 activity by the direct interaction of Gadd45α with PCNA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hye Lim; Kim, Sang Uk; Seo, Young Rok

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Emerging critical role for Gadd45α in modulating BER activity. ► Identifying specific PCNA binding site on Gadd45α protein. ► Regulating APE1 activity through interaction between Gadd45α and PCNA. ► Suggesting potential role of Gadd45α–PCNA binding in pancreatic carcinogenesis. -- Abstract: The growth arrest and DNA damage inducible, alpha (Gadd45α) protein regulates DNA repair by interacting with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Our previous study suggested a potential role for Gadd45α in the base excision repair (BER) pathway by affecting apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) protein in addition to its accepted role in nucleotide excision repair (NER). Here, we investigated whether the interaction of Gadd45α with PCNA affects APE1 activity. To address this issue, we used a siRNA directed to Gadd45α and a form of Gadd45α with a mutation to the predicted site of PCNA binding. There was a reduction of APE1 activity in cells transfected with the Gadd45α siRNA. Furthermore, the interaction of Gadd45α with PCNA and APE1 was lower in cells transfected with mutant Gadd45α compared with cells transfected with wild-type Gadd45α. Indeed, we observed that the APE1 activity in the Gadd45α-interacting complex was significantly lower in cells that overexpress mutant Gadd45α compared with cells that overexpress wild-type Gadd45α. We conclude that the PCNA binding site on Gadd45α plays a critical role in modulating the interaction with PCNA and APE1, affecting BER activity. These results provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which BER activity is modulated, although the interaction of Gadd45α with APE1 needs to be clarified

Ape Behavior in Two Alternating Environments: Comparing Exhibit and Short-Term Holding Areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ross, Stephen R.; Wagner, Katherine E.; Schapiro, Steven J.

2010-01-01

be balanced with the desire to maintain enriching and naturalistic exhibit enclosures that benefit ape residents and attract the visiting public. In these settings, examinations of ape behavior and welfare typically focus exclusively on activity in the primary exhibit area. However, physical, social...... and sensory experiences unique to each area may shape different patterns of behavior. In the current study, zoo-living chimpanzees and gorillas were moved each day from exhibit areas to off-exhibit holding areas for a short duration as a part of regular management procedures. Behavioral data indicated species......-specific reactions to the holding area, including increased aggression and self-directed behavior by chimpanzees and increased activity and prosocial behavior among gorilla subjects. Both species showed more feeding-foraging behavior while in the exhibit enclosure. Results suggest that holding areas may not meet all...

Autoshaping in Japanese Monkeys (Macaca Fuscata)

OpenAIRE

Itakura, Shoji; Fushimi, Takao; Asano, Toshio; Shoji, Itakura; Takao, Fushimi; Toshio, Asano

1992-01-01

Three Japanese monkeys were exposed to autoshaping and omission procedures. The Japanese momkeys seemed to be more sensitive to response-reinforcer contingency than to stimulus-reinforcer contingency. These results were compared with pigeons and squirrel monkeys in the previous reports.

Somatosensory deficits in monkeys treated with misonidazole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maurissen, J.P.J.; Conroy, P.J.; Passalacqua, W.; Von Burg, R.; Weiss, B.; Sutherland, R.M.

1981-01-01

Misonidazole, a hypoxic cell radiosensitizer, can produce peripheral sensory disorders in humans. It has been studied in monkeys with a computer-controlled system for evaluating vibration sensitivity. Monkeys were trained to report when vibration was stimulating the finger tip. Sinusoidal vibrations of several frequencies were presented. Two monkeys were dosed with misonidazole and their vibration sensitivity tested. They received a dose of 3 g/m 2 (about 180 mg/kg) twice weekly over a period of 6 to 10 weeks. An amplitude-frequency detection function was determined for each monkey before and after drug treatment. An analysis of covariance comparing polynomial regressions was performed. A significant difference (p < 0.001) was found between control and experimental curves in both monkeys. Pharmacokinetic data indicated a half-life of the drug in blood of about 4 to 5 hr. The overall half-life for elimination did not increase throughout prolonged treatment with msonidazole. Neither motor nor sensory nerve conduction velocity was reduced after treatment

Human evolution, life history theory, and the end of biological reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Last, Cadell

2014-01-01

Throughout primate history there have been three major life history transitions towards increasingly delayed sexual maturation and biological reproduction, as well as towards extended life expectancy. Monkeys reproduce later and live longer than do prosimians, apes reproduce later and live longer than do monkeys, and humans reproduce later and live longer than do apes. These life history transitions are connected to increased encephalization. During the last life history transition from apes to humans, increased encephalization co-evolved with increased dependence on cultural knowledge for energy acquisition. This led to a dramatic pressure for more energy investment in growth over current biological reproduction. Since the industrial revolution socioeconomic development has led to even more energy being devoted to growth over current biological reproduction. I propose that this is the beginning of an ongoing fourth major primate life history transition towards completely delayed biological reproduction and an extension of the evolved human life expectancy. I argue that the only fundamental difference between this primate life history transition and previous life history transitions is that this transition is being driven solely by cultural evolution, which may suggest some deeper evolutionary transition away from biological evolution is already in the process of occurring.

Cyto-, myelo- and chemoarchitecture of the prefrontal cortex of the Cebus monkey

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background According to several lines of evidence, the great expansion observed in the primate prefrontal cortex (PfC) was accompanied by the emergence of new cortical areas during phylogenetic development. As a consequence, the structural heterogeneity noted in this region of the primate frontal lobe has been associated with diverse behavioral and cognitive functions described in human and non-human primates. A substantial part of this evidence was obtained using Old World monkeys as experimental model; while the PfC of New World monkeys has been poorly studied. In this study, the architecture of the PfC in five capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) was analyzed based on four different architectonic tools, Nissl and myelin staining, histochemistry using the lectin Wisteria floribunda agglutinin and immunohistochemistry using SMI-32 antibody. Results Twenty-two architectonic areas in the Cebus PfC were distinguished: areas 8v, 8d, 9d, 12l, 45, 46v, 46d, 46vr and 46dr in the lateral PfC; areas 11l, 11m, 12o, 13l, 13m, 13i, 14r and 14c in the orbitofrontal cortex, with areas 14r and 14c occupying the ventromedial corner; areas 32r, 32c, 25 and 9m in the medial PfC, and area 10 in the frontal pole. This number is significantly higher than the four cytoarchitectonic areas previously recognized in the same species. However, the number and distribution of these areas in Cebus were to a large extent similar to those described in Old World monkeys PfC in more recent studies. Conclusions The present parcellation of the Cebus PfC considerably modifies the scheme initially proposed for this species but is in line with previous studies on Old World monkeys. Thus, it was observed that the remarkable anatomical similarity between the brains of genera Macaca and Cebus may extend to architectonic aspects. Since monkeys of both genera evolved independently over a long period of time facing different environmental pressures, the similarities in the architectonic maps of PfC in both genera

Computing for Lattice QCD: new developments from the APE experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ammendola, R [INFN, Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma (Italy); Biagioni, A; De Luca, S [INFN, Sezione di Roma, Roma (Italy)

2008-06-15

As the Lattice QCD develops improved techniques to shed light on new physics, it demands increasing computing power. The aim of the current APE (Array Processor Experiment) project is to provide the reference computing platform to the Lattice QCD community for the period 2009-2011. We present the project proposal for a peta flops range super-computing center with high performance and low maintenance costs, to be delivered starting from 2010.

Computing for Lattice QCD: new developments from the APE experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ammendola, R.; Biagioni, A.; De Luca, S.

2008-01-01

As the Lattice QCD develops improved techniques to shed light on new physics, it demands increasing computing power. The aim of the current APE (Array Processor Experiment) project is to provide the reference computing platform to the Lattice QCD community for the period 2009-2011. We present the project proposal for a peta flops range super-computing center with high performance and low maintenance costs, to be delivered starting from 2010.

[Hybrids of human and monkey adenoviruses (adeno-adeno hybrids) that can reproduce in monkey cells: biological and molecular genetic peculiarities].

Science.gov (United States)

Grinenko, N F; Savitskaia, N V; Pashvykina, G V; Al'tshteĭn, A D

2003-06-01

A highly oncogenic monkey adenovirus SA7(C8) facilitates the reproduction of human adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) in monkey cells. Upon mixed infection of monkey cells with both viruses, these viruses recombine producing defective adeno-adeno hybrids Ad2C8 serologically identical to Ad2 and capable of assisting Ad2 to reproduce in monkey cells. Ad2C8 and Ad2 form an intercomplementary pair inseparable in monkey cells. Unlike oncogenic SA7(C8), Ad2C8 is a nononcogenic virus for hamsters but is able to induce tumor antigens of this virus (T and TSTA). Molecular genetic analysis of 68 clones of adeno-adeno hybrids revealed that the left part of their genome consists of Ad2 DNA, and the right part contains no less than 40% of the viral SA7(C8) genome where E2A, E3, and E4 genes are located. Apparently, the products of these genes contribute to the composition of adenoviral tumor antigens, while the E4 gene is involved in complementation of monkey and human adenoviruses and makes a contribution to host range determination of these viruses.

Monkey Bites among US Military Members, Afghanistan, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Katheryn A.

2012-01-01

Bites from Macaca mulatta monkeys, native to Afghanistan, can cause serious infections. To determine risk for US military members in Afghanistan, we reviewed records for September–December 2011. Among 126 animal bites and exposures, 10 were monkey bites. Command emphasis is vital for preventing monkey bites; provider training and bite reporting promote postexposure treatment. PMID:23017939

Brief communication: Paleobiological inferences on the locomotor repertoire of extinct hominoids based on femoral neck cortical thickness: The fossil great ape hispanopithecus laietanus as a test-case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pina, Marta; Alba, David M; Almécija, Sergio; Fortuny, Josep; Moyà-Solà, Salvador

2012-09-01

The relationship between femoral neck superior and inferior cortical thickness in primates is related to locomotor behavior. This relationship has been employed to infer bipedalism in fossil hominins, although bipeds share the same pattern of generalized quadrupeds, where the superior cortex is thinner than the inferior one. In contrast, knuckle-walkers and specialized suspensory taxa display a more homogeneous distribution of cortical bone. These different patterns, probably related to the range of movement at the hip joint and concomitant differences in the load stresses at the femoral neck, are very promising for making locomotor inferences in extinct primates. To evaluate the utility of this feature in the fossil record, we relied on computed tomography applied to the femur of the Late Miocene hominoid Hispanopithecus laietanus as a test-case study. Both an orthograde body plan and orang-like suspensory adaptations had been previously documented for this taxon on different anatomical grounds, leading to the hypothesis that this fossil ape should display a modern ape-like distribution of femoral neck cortical thickness. This is confirmed by the results of this study, leading to the conclusion that Hispanopithecus represents the oldest evidence of a homogeneous cortical bone distribution in the hominoid fossil record. Our results therefore strengthen the utility of femoral neck cortical thickness for making paleobiological inferences on the locomotor repertoire of fossil primates. This feature would be particularly useful for assessing the degree of orthograde arboreal locomotor behaviors vs. terrestrial bipedalism in putative early hominins. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Derivation and characterization of monkey embryonic stem cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolf Don P

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Embryonic stem (ES cell based therapy carries great potential in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, before clinical application is realized, the safety, efficacy and feasibility of this therapeutic approach must be established in animal models. The rhesus macaque is physiologically and phylogenetically similar to the human, and therefore, is a clinically relevant animal model for biomedical research, especially that focused on neurodegenerative conditions. Undifferentiated monkey ES cells can be maintained in a pluripotent state for many passages, as characterized by a collective repertoire of markers representing embryonic cell surface molecules, enzymes and transcriptional factors. They can also be differentiated into lineage-specific phenotypes of all three embryonic germ layers by epigenetic protocols. For cell-based therapy, however, the quality of ES cells and their progeny must be ensured during the process of ES cell propagation and differentiation. While only a limited number of primate ES cell lines have been studied, it is likely that substantial inter-line variability exists. This implies that diverse ES cell lines may differ in developmental stages, lineage commitment, karyotypic normalcy, gene expression, or differentiation potential. These variables, inherited genetically and/or induced epigenetically, carry obvious complications to therapeutic applications. Our laboratory has characterized and isolated rhesus monkey ES cell lines from in vitro produced blastocysts. All tested cell lines carry the potential to form pluripotent embryoid bodies and nestin-positive progenitor cells. These ES cell progeny can be differentiated into phenotypes representing the endodermal, mesodermal and ectodermal lineages. This review article describes the derivation of monkey ES cell lines, characterization of the undifferentiated phenotype, and their differentiation into lineage-specific, particularly neural, phenotypes

Danes commemorating Darwin: apes and evolution at the 1909 anniversary.

Science.gov (United States)

Hjermitslev, Hans Henrik

2010-10-01

This article analyses the Danish 1909 celebrations of the centenary of Charles Darwin's birth on 12 February 1809. I argue that the 1909 meetings, lectures and publications devoted to Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection can be characterised by ambivalence: on the one hand, tribute to a great man of science who established a new view of nature and, on the other hand, scepticism towards the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection and the wider religious and political implications drawn from his theory. The article examines both professional and popular commemorative activities, focusing primarily on celebratory articles carried in widely circulated magazines and newspapers. I identify three types of interpretations of Darwin's ideas which I characterise as 'radical', 'evangelical' and 'safe' science. These different positions were closely linked to the political and cultural divisions of the periodical press. Moreover, my analysis of the popular press offers a solid basis for asserting that to most people Darwinism was associated with human evolution, primarily the relationship between man and apes, while more sophisticated discussions about the crisis of Darwinism prominent among naturalists played only a secondary role in the public arena. This article demonstrates the value of using newspapers as historical sources when looking for public images of Darwin, popular receptions of Darwinism and representations of science in general.

Transplantation of adult monkey neural stem cells into a contusion spinal cord injury model in rhesus macaque monkeys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nemati, Shiva Nemati; Jabbari, Reza; Hajinasrollah, Mostafa

2014-01-01

, therefore, to explore the efficacy of adult monkey NSC (mNSC) in a primate SCI model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, isolated mNSCs were analyzed by flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and RT-PCR. Next, BrdU-labeled cells were transplanted into a SCI model. The SCI animal model...... on Tarlov's scale and our established behavioral tests for monkeys. CONCLUSION: Our findings have indicated that mNSCs can facilitate recovery in contusion SCI models in rhesus macaque monkeys. Additional studies are necessary to determine the im- provement mechanisms after cell transplantation....

Killing Effect of Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA Recombinant Adenovirus in Combination with Hematoporphrphyrin Derivative-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy on Human Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Xia

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this work is to investigate the killing effects and molecular mechanism of photodynamic therapy (PDT mediated by the Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA recombinant adenovirus in combination with a hematoporphrphyrin derivative (HpD in the A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line in vitro to provide a theoretical reference for treating lung cancer by HpD-PDT. By using the technologies of MTT, flow cytometry, ELISA, and western blot, we observed that the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis of the A549 cells were significantly higher than the control group ( after HpD-PDT was performed. The inhibitory efficiency is dependent on the HpD concentration and laser intensity dose. The inhibitory effect on the proliferation of A549 cells of Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA is more significant after combining with PDT, as indicated by a significant elevation of the intracellular ROS level and the expression of inflammatory factors (. The HpD-PDT-induced expression of the APE1 protein reached the peak after 24 h in A549 cells. The inhibition of APE1 expression in A549 cells was most significant after 48 hours of infection by Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA recombinant adenovirus (10 MOI. In conclusion, the Ad5/F35-APE1 siRNA recombinant adenovirus could efficiently inhibit the HpD-PDT-induced APE1 expression hence could significantly enhance the killing effect of HpD-PDT in lung cancer cells.

On Loss Aversion in Capuchin Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Silberberg, Alan; Roma, Peter G.; Huntsberry, Mary E.; Warren-Boulton, Frederick R.; Sakagami, Takayuki; Ruggiero, Angela M.; Suomi, Stephen J.

2008-01-01

Chen, Lakshminarayanan, and Santos (2006) claim to show in three choice experiments that monkeys react rationally to price and wealth shocks, but, when faced with gambles, display hallmark, human-like biases that include loss aversion. We present three experiments with monkeys and humans consistent with a reinterpretation of their data that…

Radioimmunoassay of parathyroid hormone (parathyrin) in monkey and man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargis, G.K.; Williams, G.A.; Reynolds, W.A.; Kawahara, W.; Jackson, B.; Bowser, E.N.; Pitkin, R.M.

1977-01-01

A radioimmunoassay for rhesus monkey and human innumoreactive parathyrin was developed in which a selected anti-bovine parathyrin antiserum, radioiodinated purified bovine parathyrin tracer, and human parathyroid tissue-culture media standards were used. The resulting data indicate that the method is sensitive, specific, accurate and reproducible; it is valid for both the rhesus monkey and the human; the serum immunoreactive parathyrin concentration of the monkey is essentially the same as that in man; monkey immunoreactive parathyrin responds to changes in serum calcium concentration similarly to that in man; and the rhesus monkey is therefore a suitable species in which to study parathyroid physiology, from which conclusions can be applied to the human

Functional Imaging of Audio–Visual Selective Attention in Monkeys and Humans: How do Lapses in Monkey Performance Affect Cross-Species Correspondences?

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Muers, Ross S.; Salo, Emma; Slater, Heather; Petkov, Christopher I.

2017-01-01

Abstract The cross-species correspondences and differences in how attention modulates brain responses in humans and animal models are poorly understood. We trained 2 monkeys to perform an audio–visual selective attention task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), rewarding them to attend to stimuli in one modality while ignoring those in the other. Monkey fMRI identified regions strongly modulated by auditory or visual attention. Surprisingly, auditory attention-related modulations were much more restricted in monkeys than humans performing the same tasks during fMRI. Further analyses ruled out trivial explanations, suggesting that labile selective-attention performance was associated with inhomogeneous modulations in wide cortical regions in the monkeys. The findings provide initial insights into how audio–visual selective attention modulates the primate brain, identify sources for “lost” attention effects in monkeys, and carry implications for modeling the neurobiology of human cognition with nonhuman animals. PMID:28419201

Diverse captive non-human primates with phytanic acid-deficient diets rich in plant products have substantial phytanic acid levels in their red blood cells

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Moser Ann B

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Humans and rodents with impaired phytanic acid (PA metabolism can accumulate toxic stores of PA that have deleterious effects on multiple organ systems. Ruminants and certain fish obtain PA from the microbial degradation of dietary chlorophyll and/or through chlorophyll-derived precursors. In contrast, humans cannot derive PA from chlorophyll and instead normally obtain it only from meat, dairy, and fish products. Results Captive apes and Old world monkeys had significantly higher red blood cell (RBC PA levels relative to humans when all subjects were fed PA-deficient diets. Given the adverse health effects resulting from PA over accumulation, we investigated the molecular evolution of thirteen PA metabolism genes in apes, Old world monkeys, and New world monkeys. All non-human primate (NHP orthologs are predicted to encode full-length proteins with the marmoset Phyh gene containing a rare, but functional, GA splice donor dinucleotide. Acox2, Scp2, and Pecr sequences had amino acid positions with accelerated substitution rates while Amacr had significant variation in evolutionary rates in apes relative to other primates. Conclusions Unlike humans, diverse captive NHPs with PA-deficient diets rich in plant products have substantial RBC PA levels. The favored hypothesis is that NHPs can derive significant amounts of PA from the degradation of ingested chlorophyll through gut fermentation. If correct, this raises the possibility that RBC PA levels could serve as a biomarker for evaluating the digestive health of captive NHPs. Furthermore, the evolutionary rates of the several genes relevant to PA metabolism provide candidate genetic adaptations to NHP diets.

Immunodetection of Helicobacter sp. and the associated expression of ABO blood group antigens in the gastric mucosa of captive and free-living New World primates in the Amazon region

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Délia Cristina Figueira Aguiar

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The histo-blood group ABH antigens were first described in humans. These antigens are only present on erythrocytes from great apes and humans, while in more primitive animals they are found in tissues and body fluids. The ABH antigens are mainly distributed in tissues exposed to the external environment and potentially serve as ligands for pathogens or inhibitors of tissue connections. The objective of this paper was two-fold: (i to determine the presence of Helicobacter sp. in the gastric mucosa of 16 captive and 24 free-living New World monkeys and (ii to evaluate the presence of histopathological alterations related to bacterial infection and the associated expression of ABH antigens in the tissue. Stomach tissues from 13 species of monkey were assessed using haematoxylin-eosin and modified Gram staining (Hucker methods. An immunohistochemical analysis of the tissue revealed the presence of infectious bacteria that were characteristic of the genus Helicobacter sp. The results demonstrate that various species of monkey might be naturally infected with the Helicobacter sp. and that there is an increased susceptibility to infection. This study serves as a comparative analysis of infection between human and non-human primates and indicates the presence of a new species of Helicobacter.

Functional Imaging of Audio-Visual Selective Attention in Monkeys and Humans: How do Lapses in Monkey Performance Affect Cross-Species Correspondences?

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Rinne, Teemu; Muers, Ross S; Salo, Emma; Slater, Heather; Petkov, Christopher I

2017-06-01

The cross-species correspondences and differences in how attention modulates brain responses in humans and animal models are poorly understood. We trained 2 monkeys to perform an audio-visual selective attention task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), rewarding them to attend to stimuli in one modality while ignoring those in the other. Monkey fMRI identified regions strongly modulated by auditory or visual attention. Surprisingly, auditory attention-related modulations were much more restricted in monkeys than humans performing the same tasks during fMRI. Further analyses ruled out trivial explanations, suggesting that labile selective-attention performance was associated with inhomogeneous modulations in wide cortical regions in the monkeys. The findings provide initial insights into how audio-visual selective attention modulates the primate brain, identify sources for "lost" attention effects in monkeys, and carry implications for modeling the neurobiology of human cognition with nonhuman animals. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

Radiation-induced emesis in monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattsson, J.L.; Yochmowitz, M.G.

1980-01-01

To determine the emesis ED 50 for 60 Co radiation, 15 male rhesus monkeys were exposed to whole-body radiation doses ranging from 350 to 550 rad midline tissue dose. An up-and-down sequence of exposures was used. Step size between doses was 50 rad, and dose rate was 20 rad/min. There had been no access to food for 1 to 2 h. The ED 50 +- SE was found to be 446 +- 27 rad. To determine the effect of motion on emesis ED 50 , six more monkeys were exposed to 60 Co radiation as above, except that the chair in which they were seated was oscillated forward and backward 5 to 15 0 (pitch axis) at a variable rate not exceeding 0.3 Hz. Radioemesis ED 50 +- SE with motion was 258 +- 19 rad, a value significantly lower (P < 0.01) than for stationary monkeys

Dissociation of item and source memory in rhesus monkeys.

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Basile, Benjamin M; Hampton, Robert R

2017-09-01

Source memory, or memory for the context in which a memory was formed, is a defining characteristic of human episodic memory and source memory errors are a debilitating symptom of memory dysfunction. Evidence for source memory in nonhuman primates is sparse despite considerable evidence for other types of sophisticated memory and the practical need for good models of episodic memory in nonhuman primates. A previous study showed that rhesus monkeys confused the identity of a monkey they saw with a monkey they heard, but only after an extended memory delay. This suggests that they initially remembered the source - visual or auditory - of the information but forgot the source as time passed. Here, we present a monkey model of source memory that is based on this previous study. In each trial, monkeys studied two images, one that they simply viewed and touched and the other that they classified as a bird, fish, flower, or person. In a subsequent memory test, they were required to select the image from one source but avoid the other. With training, monkeys learned to suppress responding to images from the to-be-avoided source. After longer memory intervals, monkeys continued to show reliable item memory, discriminating studied images from distractors, but made many source memory errors. Monkeys discriminated source based on study method, not study order, providing preliminary evidence that our manipulation of retention interval caused errors due to source forgetting instead of source confusion. Finally, some monkeys learned to select remembered images from either source on cue, showing that they did indeed remember both items and both sources. This paradigm potentially provides a new model to study a critical aspect of episodic memory in nonhuman primates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Depth perception from moving cast shadow in macaque monkey.

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Mizutani, Saneyuki; Usui, Nobuo; Yokota, Takanori; Mizusawa, Hidehiro; Taira, Masato; Katsuyama, Narumi

2015-07-15

In the present study, we investigate whether the macaque monkey can perceive motion in depth using a moving cast shadow. To accomplish this, we conducted two experiments. In the first experiment, an adult Japanese monkey was trained in a motion discrimination task in depth by binocular disparity. A square was presented on the display so that it appeared with a binocular disparity of 0.12 degrees (initial position), and moved toward (approaching) or away from (receding) the monkey for 1s. The monkey was trained to discriminate the approaching and receding motion of the square by GO/delayed GO-type responses. The monkey showed a significantly high accuracy rate in the task, and the performance was maintained when the position, color, and shape of the moving object were changed. In the next experiment, the change in the disparity was gradually decreased in the motion discrimination task. The results showed that the performance of the monkey declined as the distance of the approaching and receding motion of the square decreased from the initial position. However, when a moving cast shadow was added to the stimulus, the monkey responded to the motion in depth induced by the cast shadow in the same way as by binocular disparity; the reward was delivered randomly or given in all trials to prevent the learning of the 2D motion of the shadow in the frontal plane. These results suggest that the macaque monkey can perceive motion in depth using a moving cast shadow as well as using binocular disparity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nuclear weapon testing and the monkey business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murthy, M.S.S.

1978-01-01

Reasons for India's total ban on the export of rhesus monkeys to U.S. have been explained. The major reason is that some of the animals were used in nuclear weapon related radiation experiments. This was a clear violation of a stricture in the agreement about supply of monkeys. The stricture prohibited the use of animals for research concerning military operations, including nuclear weapon testing. It is pleaded that a strict enforcement of strictures rather than a total ban on the export of monkeys would be better in the interest of advancement of knowledge in human medicine and disease control. (M.G.B.)

Dissecting the mechanisms of squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) social learning.

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Hopper, Lm; Holmes, An; Williams, LE; Brosnan, Sf

2013-01-01

Although the social learning abilities of monkeys have been well documented, this research has only focused on a few species. Furthermore, of those that also incorporated dissections of social learning mechanisms, the majority studied either capuchins (Cebus apella) or marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). To gain a broader understanding of how monkeys gain new skills, we tested squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) which have never been studied in tests of social learning mechanisms. To determine whether S. boliviensis can socially learn, we ran "open diffusion" tests with monkeys housed in two social groups (N = 23). Over the course of 10 20-min sessions, the monkeys in each group observed a trained group member retrieving a mealworm from a bidirectional task (the "Slide-box"). Two thirds (67%) of these monkeys both learned how to operate the Slide-box and they also moved the door significantly more times in the direction modeled by the trained demonstrator than the alternative direction. To tease apart the underlying social learning mechanisms we ran a series of three control conditions with 35 squirrel monkeys that had no previous experience with the Slide-box. The first replicated the experimental open diffusion sessions but without the inclusion of a trained model, the second was a no-information control with dyads of monkeys, and the third was a 'ghost' display shown to individual monkeys. The first two controls tested for the importance of social support (mere presence effect) and the ghost display showed the affordances of the task to the monkeys. The monkeys showed a certain level of success in the group control (54% of subjects solved the task on one or more occasions) and paired controls (28% were successful) but none were successful in the ghost control. We propose that the squirrel monkeys' learning, observed in the experimental open diffusion tests, can be best described by a combination of social learning mechanisms in concert; in this case, those

Monkey-derived monoclonal antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanley, H.A.; Reese, R.T.

1985-01-01

A system has been developed that allows efficient production of monkey monoclonal antibodies from owl monkeys. Splenocytes or peripheral blood lymphocytes from monkeys immune to the human malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, were fused with P3X63 Ag8.653 mouse myelomas. The resulting hybridomas were screened by an indirect fluorescent antibody test for the production of monkey monoclonal antibodies (mAb) reactive with P. falciparum. Most of the mAb reacted with the P. falciparum merozoites and immunoprecipitated a parasite-derived glycoprotein having a relative molecular weight of 185,000. These mAb gave a minimum of five different immunoprecipitation patterns, thus demonstrating that a large number of polypeptides obtained when parasitized erythrocytes are solubilized share epitopes with this large glycoprotein. In addition, mAb were obtained that reacted with antigens associated with the infected erythrocyte membrane. One of these mAb bound a M/sub r/ 95,000 antigen. Radioimmunoprecipitation assays using 125 T-antibodies were done

Distribution and abundance of sacred monkeys in Igboland, southern Nigeria.

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Baker, Lynne R; Tanimola, Adebowale A; Olubode, Oluseun S; Garshelis, David L

2009-07-01

Although primates are hunted on a global scale, some species are protected against harassment and killing by taboos or religious doctrines. Sites where the killing of sacred monkeys or the destruction of sacred groves is forbidden may be integral to the conservation of certain species. In 2004, as part of a distribution survey of Sclater's guenon (Cercopithecus sclateri) in southern Nigeria, we investigated reports of sacred monkeys in the Igbo-speaking region of Nigeria. We confirmed nine new sites where primates are protected as sacred: four with tantalus monkeys (Chlorocebus tantalus) and five with mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona). During 2004-2006, we visited two communities (Akpugoeze and Lagwa) previously known to harbor sacred populations of Ce. sclateri to estimate population abundance and trends. We directly counted all groups and compared our estimates with previous counts when available. We also estimated the size of sacred groves and compared these with grove sizes reported in the literature. The mean size of the sacred groves in Akpugoeze (2.06 ha, n = 10) was similar to others in Africa south of the Sahel, but larger than the average grove in Lagwa (0.49 ha, n = 15). We estimated a total population of 124 Sclater's monkeys in 15 groups in Lagwa and 193 monkeys in 20 groups in Akpugoeze. The Akpugoeze population was relatively stable over two decades, although the proportion of infants declined, and the number of groups increased. As Sclater's monkey does not occur in any official protected areas, sacred populations are important to the species' long-term conservation. Despite the monkeys' destruction of human crops, most local people still adhere to the custom of not killing monkeys. These sites represent ideal locations in which to study the ecology of Sclater's monkey and human-wildlife interactions. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Locomotor Anatomy and Behavior of Patas Monkeys (Erythrocebus patas with Comparison to Vervet Monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops

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Adrienne L. Zihlman

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas living in African savanna woodlands and grassland habitats have a locomotor system that allows them to run fast, presumably to avoid predators. Long fore- and hindlimbs, long foot bones, short toes, and a digitigrade foot posture were proposed as anatomical correlates with speed. In addition to skeletal proportions, soft tissue and whole body proportions are important components of the locomotor system. To further distinguish patas anatomy from other Old World monkeys, a comparative study based on dissection of skin, muscle, and bone from complete individuals of patas and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops was undertaken. Analysis reveals that small adjustments in patas skeletal proportions, relative mass of limbs and tail, and specific muscle groups promote efficient sagittal limb motion. The ability to run fast is based on a locomotor system adapted for long distance walking. The patas’ larger home range and longer daily range than those of vervets give them access to highly dispersed, nutritious foods, water, and sleeping trees. Furthermore, patas monkeys have physiological adaptations that enable them to tolerate and dissipate heat. These features all contribute to the distinct adaptation that is the patas monkeys’ basis for survival in grassland and savanna woodland areas.

Default Mode of Brain Function in Monkeys

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Mantini, Dante; Gerits, Annelis; Nelissen, Koen; Durand, Jean-Baptiste; Joly, Olivier; Simone, Luciano; Sawamura, Hiromasa; Wardak, Claire; Orban, Guy A.; Buckner, Randy L.; Vanduffel, Wim

2013-01-01

Human neuroimaging has revealed a specific network of brain regions—the default-mode network (DMN)—that reduces its activity during goal-directed behavior. So far, evidence for a similar network in monkeys is mainly indirect, since, except for one positron emission tomography study, it is all based on functional connectivity analysis rather than activity increases during passive task states. Here, we tested whether a consistent DMN exists in monkeys using its defining property. We performed a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected in 10 awake monkeys to reveal areas in which activity consistently decreases when task demands shift from passive tasks to externally oriented processing. We observed task-related spatially specific deactivations across 15 experiments, implying in the monkey a functional equivalent of the human DMN. We revealed by resting-state connectivity that prefrontal and medial parietal regions, including areas 9/46d and 31, respectively, constitute the DMN core, being functionally connected to all other DMN areas. We also detected two distinct subsystems composed of DMN areas with stronger functional connections between each other. These clusters included areas 24/32, 8b, and TPOC and areas 23, v23, and PGm, respectively. Such a pattern of functional connectivity largely fits, but is not completely consistent with anatomical tract tracing data in monkeys. Also, analysis of afferent and efferent connections between DMN areas suggests a multisynaptic network structure. Like humans, monkeys increase activity during passive epochs in heteromodal and limbic association regions, suggesting that they also default to internal modes of processing when not actively interacting with the environment. PMID:21900574

Captive spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) arm-raise to solicit allo-grooming.

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Scheel, Matthew H; Edwards, Dori

2012-03-01

Old World monkeys solicit allo-grooming from conspecifics. However, there are relatively few studies of allo-grooming among spider monkeys, and descriptions of allo-grooming solicitation among spider monkeys are anecdotal. In this study, eighty-one hours of video, shot over eight weeks, captured 271 allo-grooming bouts among small groups of captive spider monkeys. Six of eight monkeys made heretofore unreported arm-raises that solicited higher than normal rates of allo-grooming. Allo-grooming bout durations following arm-raises also tended to be longer than bouts not preceded by arm-raises. The efficacy of the arm-raise at soliciting allo-grooming suggests spider monkeys are capable of intentional communication. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metabolism of lithocholic and chenodeoxycholic acids in the squirrel monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, H.; Hamada, M.; Kato, F.

1985-01-01

Metabolism of lithocholic acid (LCA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) was studied in the squirrel monkey to clarify the mechanism of the lack of toxicity of CDCA in this animal. Radioactive LCA was administered to squirrel monkeys with biliary fistula. Most radioactivity was excreted in the bile in the form of unsulfated lithocholyltaurine. The squirrel monkey thus differs from humans and chimpanzees, which efficiently sulfate LCA, and is similar to the rhesus monkey and baboon in that LCA is poorly sulfated. When labeled CDCA was orally administered to squirrel monkeys, less than 20% of the dosed radioactivity was recovered as LCA and its further metabolites in feces over 3 days, indicating that bacterial metabolism of CDCA into LCA is strikingly less than in other animals and in humans. It therefore appears that LCA, known as a hepatotoxic secondary bile acid, is not accumulated in the squirrel monkey, not because of its rapid turnover through sulfation, but because of the low order of its production

APES: Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer - A High Time Resolution Monodirectional Magnetic Deflection Electron Spectrometer

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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.

Multi circular-cavity surface coil for magnetic resonance imaging of monkey's brain at 4 Tesla

Science.gov (United States)

Osorio, A. I.; Solis-Najera, S. E.; Vázquez, F.; Wang, R. L.; Tomasi, D.; Rodriguez, A. O.

2014-11-01

Animal models in medical research has been used to study humans diseases for several decades. The use of different imaging techniques together with different animal models offers a great advantage due to the possibility to study some human pathologies without the necessity of chirurgical intervention. The employ of magnetic resonance imaging for the acquisition of anatomical and functional images is an excellent tool because its noninvasive nature. Dedicated coils to perform magnetic resonance imaging experiments are obligatory due to the improvement on the signal-to-noise ratio and reduced specific absorption ratio. A specifically designed surface coil for magnetic resonance imaging of monkey's brain is proposed based on the multi circular-slot coil. Numerical simulations of the magnetic and electric fields were also performed using the Finite Integration Method to solve Maxwell's equations for this particular coil design and, to study the behavior of various vector magnetic field configurations and specific absorption ratio. Monkey's brain images were then acquired with a research-dedicated magnetic resonance imaging system at 4T, to evaluate the anatomical images with conventional imaging sequences. This coil showed good quality images of a monkey's brain and full compatibility with standard pulse sequences implemented in research-dedicated imager.

Monkey Business

Science.gov (United States)

Blackwood, Christine Horvatis

2012-01-01

A ballerina, a gladiator, a camper, a baseball player, a surfer, and a shopper; these are just a few of the amazing monkeys that the author's seventh graders created from papier-mache. This project provided an opportunity for students to express themselves through the creation of sculptural characters based on their own interests, hobbies, and…

Functional analysis of aldehyde oxidase using expressed chimeric enzyme between monkey and rat.

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Itoh, Kunio; Asakawa, Tasuku; Hoshino, Kouichi; Adachi, Mayuko; Fukiya, Kensuke; Watanabe, Nobuaki; Tanaka, Yorihisa

2009-01-01

Aldehyde oxidase (AO) is a homodimer with a subunit molecular mass of approximately 150 kDa. Each subunit consists of about 20 kDa 2Fe-2S cluster domain storing reducing equivalents, about 40 kDa flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domain and about 85 kDa molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) domain containing a substrate binding site. In order to clarify the properties of each domain, especially substrate binding domain, chimeric cDNAs were constructed by mutual exchange of 2Fe-2S/FAD and MoCo domains between monkey and rat. Chimeric monkey/rat AO was referred to one with monkey type 2Fe-2S/FAD domains and a rat type MoCo domain. Rat/monkey AO was vice versa. AO-catalyzed 2-oxidation activities of (S)-RS-8359 were measured using the expressed enzyme in Escherichia coli. Substrate inhibition was seen in rat AO and chimeric monkey/rat AO, but not in monkey AO and chimeric rat/monkey AO, suggesting that the phenomenon might be dependent on the natures of MoCo domain of rat. A biphasic Eadie-Hofstee profile was observed in monkey AO and chimeric rat/monkey AO, but not rat AO and chimeric monkey/rat AO, indicating that the biphasic profile might be related to the properties of MoCo domain of monkey. Two-fold greater V(max) values were observed in monkey AO than in chimeric rat/monkey AO, and in chimeric monkey/rat AO than in rat AO, suggesting that monkey has the more effective electron transfer system than rat. Thus, the use of chimeric enzymes revealed that 2Fe-2S/FAD and MoCo domains affect the velocity and the quantitative profiles of AO-catalyzed (S)-RS-8359 2-oxidation, respectively.

Evaluation of monkey intraocular pressure by rebound tonometer

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wenhan; Cao, Guiqun; Qiu, Jinghua; Ma, Jia; Li, Ni; Yu, Man; Yan, Naihong; Chen, Lei; Pang, Iok-Hou

2009-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the usefulness of the TonoVet™ rebound tonometer in measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) of monkeys. Methods The accuracy of the TonoVet™ rebound tonometer was determined in cannulated eyes of anesthetized rhesus monkeys where IOP was controlled by adjusting the height of a connected perfusate reservoir. To assess the applicability of the equipment through in vivo studies, the diurnal fluctuation of IOP and effects of IOP-lowering compounds were evaluated in monkeys. Results IOP readings generated by the TonoVet™ tonometer correlated very well with the actual pressure in the cannulated monkey eye. The linear correlation had a slope of 0.922±0.014 (mean±SEM, n=4), a y-intercept of 3.04±0.61, and a correlation coefficient of r2=0.97. Using this method, diurnal IOP fluctuation of the rhesus monkey was demonstrated. The tonometer was also able to detect IOP changes induced by pharmacologically active compounds. A single topical ocular instillation (15 μg) of the rho kinase inhibitor, H1152, produced a 5–6 mmHg reduction (pmonkey eye. PMID:19898690

Computing Arm Movements with a Monkey Brainet.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramakrishnan, Arjun; Ifft, Peter J; Pais-Vieira, Miguel; Byun, Yoon Woo; Zhuang, Katie Z; Lebedev, Mikhail A; Nicolelis, Miguel A L

2015-07-09

Traditionally, brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) extract motor commands from a single brain to control the movements of artificial devices. Here, we introduce a Brainet that utilizes very-large-scale brain activity (VLSBA) from two (B2) or three (B3) nonhuman primates to engage in a common motor behaviour. A B2 generated 2D movements of an avatar arm where each monkey contributed equally to X and Y coordinates; or one monkey fully controlled the X-coordinate and the other controlled the Y-coordinate. A B3 produced arm movements in 3D space, while each monkey generated movements in 2D subspaces (X-Y, Y-Z, or X-Z). With long-term training we observed increased coordination of behavior, increased correlations in neuronal activity between different brains, and modifications to neuronal representation of the motor plan. Overall, performance of the Brainet improved owing to collective monkey behaviour. These results suggest that primate brains can be integrated into a Brainet, which self-adapts to achieve a common motor goal.

Experimental study of APE1 RNA interference enhancing the sensitivity of neutron radiation in osteosarcoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Dong; Qing Yi; Zhong Zhaoyang; Li Zengpeng; Zhang Xinhong; Yang Yuxin

2007-01-01

Objective: To knock down APE1 gene expression in HOS cells, and explore its antitumor effects in combination with 252 Cf neutron radiotherapy. Methods: pSilence APE1 siBNA plasmid was transfected into HOS cells by SuperFect Transfection liposome. The transfected HOS cells were irradiated by 252 Cf neutron, then MTY assay, clone formation assay and alkaline comet assay were used to detect the radiobiological reaction, and cell apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. Results: The D 37 value was 3.02 vs. 2.42 in the control and transfected HOS cells respectively after irradiation with 252 Cf neutron, the DMF value is 1.43. The tail moments and cell apoptosis rate at 200, 500 and 1000 cGy showed significant difference between the two groups (P 252 Cf neutron radiotherapy may be a promising approach to therapy of human osteosarcoma in the future. (authors)

Control of Working Memory in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Hsiao-Wei; Hampton, Robert R.

2014-01-01

Cognitive control is critical for efficiently using the limited resources in working memory. It is well established that humans use rehearsal to increase the probability of remembering needed information, but little is known in nonhumans, with some studies reporting the absence of active control and others subject to alternative explanations. We trained monkeys in a visual matching-to-sample paradigm with a post-sample memory cue. Monkeys either saw a remember cue that predicted the occurrence of a matching test that required memory for the sample, or a forget cue that predicted a discrimination test that did not require memory of the sample. Infrequent probe trials on which monkeys were given tests of the type not cued on that trial were used to assess whether memory was under cognitive control. Our procedures controlled for reward expectation and for the surprising nature of the probes. Monkeys matched less accurately after forget cues, while discrimination accuracy was equivalent in the two cue conditions. We also tested monkeys with lists of two consecutive sample images that shared the same cue. Again, memory for expected memory tests was superior to that on unexpected tests. Together these results show that monkeys cognitively control their working memory. PMID:25436219

A single-cell and feeder-free culture system for monkey embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Takashi; Suzuki, Yutaka; Kato, Yosuke; Fujita, Risako; Araki, Toshihiro; Yamashita, Tomoko; Kato, Hidemasa; Torii, Ryuzo; Sato, Naoya

2014-01-01

Primate pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), hold great potential for research and application in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. To maximize primate PSC potential, a practical system is required for generating desired functional cells and reproducible differentiation techniques. Much progress regarding their culture systems has been reported to date; however, better methods would still be required for their practical use, particularly in industrial and clinical fields. Here we report a new single-cell and feeder-free culture system for primate PSCs, the key feature of which is an originally formulated serum-free medium containing FGF and activin. In this culture system, cynomolgus monkey ESCs can be passaged many times by single-cell dissociation with traditional trypsin treatment and can be propagated with a high proliferation rate as a monolayer without any feeder cells; further, typical PSC properties and genomic stability can be retained. In addition, it has been demonstrated that monkey ESCs maintained in the culture system can be used for various experiments such as in vitro differentiation and gene manipulation. Thus, compared with the conventional culture system, monkey ESCs grown in the aforementioned culture system can serve as a cell source with the following practical advantages: simple, stable, and easy cell maintenance; gene manipulation; cryopreservation; and desired differentiation. We propose that this culture system can serve as a reliable platform to prepare primate PSCs useful for future research and application.

Allergic asthma induced in rhesus monkeys by house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae).

Science.gov (United States)

Schelegle, E S; Gershwin, L J; Miller, L A; Fanucchi, M V; Van Winkle, L S; Gerriets, J P; Walby, W F; Omlor, A M; Buckpitt, A R; Tarkington, B K; Wong, V J; Joad, J P; Pinkerton, K B; Wu, R; Evans, M J; Hyde, D M; Plopper, C G

2001-01-01

To establish whether allergic asthma could be induced experimentally in a nonhuman primate using a common human allergen, three female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were sensitized with house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae) allergen (HDMA) by subcutaneous injection, followed by four intranasal sensitizations, and exposure to allergen aerosol 3 hours per day, 3 days per week for up to 13 weeks. Before aerosol challenge, all three monkeys skin-tested positive for HDMA. During aerosol challenge with HDMA, sensitized monkeys exhibited cough and rapid shallow breathing and increased airway resistance, which was reversed by albuterol aerosol treatment. Compared to nonsensitized monkeys, there was a fourfold reduction in the dose of histamine aerosol necessary to produce a 150% increase in airway resistance in sensitized monkeys. After aerosol challenge, serum levels of histamine were elevated in sensitized monkeys. Sensitized monkeys exhibited increased levels of HDMA-specific IgE in serum, numbers of eosinophils and exfoliated cells within lavage, and elevated CD25 expression on circulating CD4(+) lymphocytes. Intrapulmonary bronchi of sensitized monkeys had focal mucus cell hyperplasia, interstitial infiltrates of eosinophils, and thickening of the basement membrane zone. We conclude that a model of allergic asthma can be induced in rhesus monkeys using a protocol consisting of subcutaneous injection, intranasal instillation, and aerosol challenge with HDMA.

Head Rotation Detection in Marmoset Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Simhadri, Sravanthi

Head movement is known to have the benefit of improving the accuracy of sound localization for humans and animals. Marmoset is a small bodied New World monkey species and it has become an emerging model for studying the auditory functions. This thesis aims to detect the horizontal and vertical rotation of head movement in marmoset monkeys. Experiments were conducted in a sound-attenuated acoustic chamber. Head movement of marmoset monkey was studied under various auditory and visual stimulation conditions. With increasing complexity, these conditions are (1) idle, (2) sound-alone, (3) sound and visual signals, and (4) alert signal by opening and closing of the chamber door. All of these conditions were tested with either house light on or off. Infra-red camera with a frame rate of 90 Hz was used to capture of the head movement of monkeys. To assist the signal detection, two circular markers were attached to the top of monkey head. The data analysis used an image-based marker detection scheme. Images were processed using the Computation Vision Toolbox in Matlab. The markers and their positions were detected using blob detection techniques. Based on the frame-by-frame information of marker positions, the angular position, velocity and acceleration were extracted in horizontal and vertical planes. Adaptive Otsu Thresholding, Kalman filtering and bound setting for marker properties were used to overcome a number of challenges encountered during this analysis, such as finding image segmentation threshold, continuously tracking markers during large head movement, and false alarm detection. The results show that the blob detection method together with Kalman filtering yielded better performances than other image based techniques like optical flow and SURF features .The median of the maximal head turn in the horizontal plane was in the range of 20 to 70 degrees and the median of the maximal velocity in horizontal plane was in the range of a few hundreds of degrees per

Sex differences in rhesus monkey toy preferences parallel those of children

Science.gov (United States)

Hassett, Janice M.; Siebert, Erin R.; Wallen, Kim

2008-01-01

Socialization processes, parents, or peers encouraging play with gender specific toys are thought to be the primary force shaping sex differences in toy preference. A contrast in view is that toy preferences reflect biologically determined preferences for specific activities facilitated by specific toys. Sex differences in juvenile activities, such as rough and tumble play, peer preferences, and infant interest, share similarities in humans and monkeys. Thus if activity preferences shape toy preferences, male and female monkeys may show toy preferences similar to those seen in boys and girls. We compared the interactions of 34 rhesus monkeys, living within a 135 monkey troop, with human wheeled toys and plush toys. Male monkeys, like boys, showed consistent and strong preferences for wheeled toys, while female monkeys, like girls, showed greater variability in preferences. Thus, the magnitude of preference for wheeled over plush toys differed significantly between males and females. The similarities to human findings demonstrate that such preferences can develop without explicit gendered socialization. We offer the hypothesis that toy preferences reflect hormonally influenced behavioral and cognitive biases which are sculpted by social processes into the sex differences seen in monkeys and humans. PMID:18452921

A preliminary report on oral fat tolerance test in rhesus monkeys

OpenAIRE

Wu, Di; Liu, Qingsu; Wei, Shiyuan; Zhang, Yu Alex; Yue, Feng

2014-01-01

Background Oral fat tolerance test (OFTT) has been widely used to assess the postprandial lipemia in human beings, but there is few studies concerning OFTT in nonhuman primates. This study is designed to explore the feasibility of OFTT in rhesus monkeys. Methods In a cross-over study, a total of 8 adult female rhesus monkeys were fed with normal monkey diet (NND), high sugar high fat diet (HHD), and extremely high fat diet (EHD), respectively. Each monkey consumed NND, HHD and EHD respectivel...

Rhesus monkey lens as an in vitro model for studying oxidative stress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zigler, J.S. Jr.; Lucas, V.A.; Du, X.Y.

1989-01-01

Lenses from young rhesus monkeys were incubated in the presence of H 2 O 2 or oxygen radical generating systems to determine their suitability as a model for investigating lenticular oxidative stress. Additionally, direct comparisons were made between the effects found with the monkey lenses and those observed with cultured rat lenses exposed to the same oxidizing systems. As in earlier studies with rat lenses the monkey lenses exhibited impaired ability to actively accumulate from the medium radioactively labelled rubidium and choline following exposure to oxidative stress. Based on the effects of various scavengers of oxygen radicals it appeared that the mechanisms responsible for lens damage were the same for both rat and monkey lenses. However, rat lenses were damaged by lower concentrations of oxidants than were monkey lenses. It was concluded that oxidative stress affects both rat and monkey lenses by similar mechanisms but that lenses from monkeys, and probably other primates, are more resistant to these effects because they have better endogenous antioxidant defenses

Change detection by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and pigeons (Columba livia).

Science.gov (United States)

Elmore, L Caitlin; Magnotti, John F; Katz, Jeffrey S; Wright, Anthony A

2012-08-01

Two monkeys (Macaca mulatta) learned a color change-detection task where two colored circles (selected from a 4-color set) were presented on a 4 × 4 invisible matrix. Following a delay, the correct response was to touch the changed colored circle. The monkeys' learning, color transfer, and delay transfer were compared to a similar experiment with pigeons. Monkeys, like pigeons (Columba livia), showed full transfer to four novel colors, and to delays as long as 6.4 s, suggesting they remembered the colors as opposed to perceptual based attentional capture process that may work at very short delays. The monkeys and pigeons were further tested to compare transfer with other dimensions. Monkeys transferred to shape and location changes, unlike the pigeons, but neither species transferred to size changes. Thus, monkeys were less restricted in their domain to detect change than pigeons, but both species learned the basic task and appear suitable for comparative studies of visual short-term memory. 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Comparison of Object Recognition Behavior in Human and Monkey

Science.gov (United States)

Rajalingham, Rishi; Schmidt, Kailyn

2015-01-01

Although the rhesus monkey is used widely as an animal model of human visual processing, it is not known whether invariant visual object recognition behavior is quantitatively comparable across monkeys and humans. To address this question, we systematically compared the core object recognition behavior of two monkeys with that of human subjects. To test true object recognition behavior (rather than image matching), we generated several thousand naturalistic synthetic images of 24 basic-level objects with high variation in viewing parameters and image background. Monkeys were trained to perform binary object recognition tasks on a match-to-sample paradigm. Data from 605 human subjects performing the same tasks on Mechanical Turk were aggregated to characterize “pooled human” object recognition behavior, as well as 33 separate Mechanical Turk subjects to characterize individual human subject behavior. Our results show that monkeys learn each new object in a few days, after which they not only match mean human performance but show a pattern of object confusion that is highly correlated with pooled human confusion patterns and is statistically indistinguishable from individual human subjects. Importantly, this shared human and monkey pattern of 3D object confusion is not shared with low-level visual representations (pixels, V1+; models of the retina and primary visual cortex) but is shared with a state-of-the-art computer vision feature representation. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that rhesus monkeys and humans share a common neural shape representation that directly supports object perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To date, several mammalian species have shown promise as animal models for studying the neural mechanisms underlying high-level visual processing in humans. In light of this diversity, making tight comparisons between nonhuman and human primates is particularly critical in determining the best use of nonhuman primates to

Emergence of Cryptosporidium hominis Monkey Genotype II and Novel Subtype Family Ik in the Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri sciureus) in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xuehan; Xie, Na; Li, Wei; Zhou, Ziyao; Zhong, Zhijun; Shen, Liuhong; Cao, Suizhong; Yu, Xingming; Hu, Yanchuan; Chen, Weigang; Peng, Gangneng

2015-01-01

A single Cryptosporidium isolate from a squirrel monkey with no clinical symptoms was obtained from a zoo in Ya'an city, China, and was genotyped by PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA), 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70), Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein, and actin genes. This multilocus genetic characterization determined that the isolate was Cryptosporidium hominis, but carried 2, 10, and 6 nucleotide differences in the SSU rRNA, HSP70, and actin loci, respectively, which is comparable to the variations at these loci between C. hominis and the previously reported monkey genotype (2, 3, and 3 nucleotide differences). Phylogenetic studies, based on neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods, showed that the isolate identified in the current study had a distinctly discordant taxonomic status, distinct from known C. hominis and also from the monkey genotype, with respect to the three loci. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the SSU rRNA gene obtained from this study were similar to those of known C. hominis but clearly differentiated from the monkey genotype. Further subtyping was performed by sequence analysis of the gene encoding the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60). Maximum homology of only 88.3% to C. hominis subtype IdA10G4 was observed for the current isolate, and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that this particular isolate belonged to a novel C. hominis subtype family, IkA7G4. This study is the first to report C. hominis infection in the squirrel monkey and, based on the observed genetic characteristics, confirms a new C. hominis genotype, monkey genotype II. Thus, these results provide novel insights into genotypic variation in C. hominis.

Peripheral refraction in normal infant rhesus monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Li-Fang; Ramamirtham, Ramkumar; Huang, Juan; Qiao-Grider, Ying; Smith, Earl L.

2008-01-01

Purpose To characterize peripheral refractions in infant monkeys. Methods Cross-sectional data for horizontal refractions were obtained from 58 normal rhesus monkeys at 3 weeks of age. Longitudinal data were obtained for both the vertical and horizontal meridians from 17 monkeys. Refractive errors were measured by retinoscopy along the pupillary axis and at eccentricities of 15, 30, and 45 degrees. Axial dimensions and corneal power were measured by ultrasonography and keratometry, respectively. Results In infant monkeys, the degree of radial astigmatism increased symmetrically with eccentricity in all meridians. There were, however, initial nasal-temporal and superior-inferior asymmetries in the spherical-equivalent refractive errors. Specifically, the refractions in the temporal and superior fields were similar to the central ametropia, but the refractions in the nasal and inferior fields were more myopic than the central ametropia and the relative nasal field myopia increased with the degree of central hyperopia. With age, the degree of radial astigmatism decreased in all meridians and the refractions became more symmetrical along both the horizontal and vertical meridians; small degrees of relative myopia were evident in all fields. Conclusions As in adult humans, refractive error varied as a function of eccentricity in infant monkeys and the pattern of peripheral refraction varied with the central refractive error. With age, emmetropization occurred for both central and peripheral refractive errors resulting in similar refractions across the central 45 degrees of the visual field, which may reflect the actions of vision-dependent, growth-control mechanisms operating over a wide area of the posterior globe. PMID:18487366

Monkey cortex through fMRI glasses.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanduffel, Wim; Zhu, Qi; Orban, Guy A

2014-08-06

In 1998 several groups reported the feasibility of fMRI experiments in monkeys, with the goal to bridge the gap between invasive nonhuman primate studies and human functional imaging. These studies yielded critical insights in the neuronal underpinnings of the BOLD signal. Furthermore, the technology has been successful in guiding electrophysiological recordings and identifying focal perturbation targets. Finally, invaluable information was obtained concerning human brain evolution. We here provide a comprehensive overview of awake monkey fMRI studies mainly confined to the visual system. We review the latest insights about the topographic organization of monkey visual cortex and discuss the spatial relationships between retinotopy and category- and feature-selective clusters. We briefly discuss the functional layout of parietal and frontal cortex and continue with a summary of some fascinating functional and effective connectivity studies. Finally, we review recent comparative fMRI experiments and speculate about the future of nonhuman primate imaging. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comment on "Monkey vocal tracts are speech-ready".

Science.gov (United States)

Lieberman, Philip

2017-07-01

Monkey vocal tracts are capable of producing monkey speech, not the full range of articulate human speech. The evolution of human speech entailed both anatomy and brains. Fitch, de Boer, Mathur, and Ghazanfar in Science Advances claim that "monkey vocal tracts are speech-ready," and conclude that "…the evolution of human speech capabilities required neural change rather than modifications of vocal anatomy." Neither premise is consistent either with the data presented and the conclusions reached by de Boer and Fitch themselves in their own published papers on the role of anatomy in the evolution of human speech or with the body of independent studies published since the 1950s.

Wave aberrations in rhesus monkeys with vision-induced ametropias

Science.gov (United States)

Ramamirtham, Ramkumar; Kee, Chea-su; Hung, Li-Fang; Qiao-Grider, Ying; Huang, Juan; Roorda, Austin; Smith, Earl L.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between refractive errors and high-order aberrations in infant rhesus monkeys. Specifically, we compared the monochromatic wave aberrations measured with a Shack-Hartman wavefront sensor between normal monkeys and monkeys with vision-induced refractive errors. Shortly after birth, both normal monkeys and treated monkeys reared with optically induced defocus or form deprivation showed a decrease in the magnitude of high-order aberrations with age. However, the decrease in aberrations was typically smaller in the treated animals. Thus, at the end of the lens-rearing period, higher than normal amounts of aberrations were observed in treated eyes, both hyperopic and myopic eyes and treated eyes that developed astigmatism, but not spherical ametropias. The total RMS wavefront error increased with the degree of spherical refractive error, but was not correlated with the degree of astigmatism. Both myopic and hyperopic treated eyes showed elevated amounts of coma and trefoil and the degree of trefoil increased with the degree of spherical ametropia. Myopic eyes also exhibited a much higher prevalence of positive spherical aberration than normal or treated hyperopic eyes. Following the onset of unrestricted vision, the amount of high-order aberrations decreased in the treated monkeys that also recovered from the experimentally induced refractive errors. Our results demonstrate that high-order aberrations are influenced by visual experience in young primates and that the increase in high-order aberrations in our treated monkeys appears to be an optical byproduct of the vision-induced alterations in ocular growth that underlie changes in refractive error. The results from our study suggest that the higher amounts of wave aberrations observed in ametropic humans are likely to be a consequence, rather than a cause, of abnormal refractive development. PMID:17825347

Do you see what I see? A comparative investigation of the Delboeuf illusion in humans (Homo sapiens), rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), and capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

Science.gov (United States)

Parrish, Audrey E; Brosnan, Sarah F; Beran, Michael J

2015-10-01

Studying visual illusions is critical to understanding typical visual perception. We investigated whether rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) perceived the Delboeuf illusion in a similar manner as human adults (Homo sapiens). To test this, in Experiment 1, we presented monkeys and humans with a relative discrimination task that required subjects to choose the larger of 2 central dots that were sometimes encircled by concentric rings. As predicted, humans demonstrated evidence of the Delboeuf illusion, overestimating central dots when small rings surrounded them and underestimating the size of central dots when large rings surrounded them. However, monkeys did not show evidence of the illusion. To rule out an alternate explanation, in Experiment 2, we presented all species with an absolute classification task that required them to classify a central dot as "small" or "large." We presented a range of ring sizes to determine whether the Delboeuf illusion would occur for any dot-to-ring ratios. Here, we found evidence of the Delboeuf illusion in all 3 species. Humans and monkeys underestimated central dot size to a progressively greater degree with progressively larger rings. The Delboeuf illusion now has been extended to include capuchin monkeys and rhesus monkeys, and through such comparative investigations we can better evaluate hypotheses regarding illusion perception among nonhuman animals. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluation of diabetes determinants in woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ange-van Heugten, K.D.; Burns, R.; Verstegen, M.W.A.; Jansen, W.L.; Ferket, P.R.; Heugten, E.

2007-01-01

Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) are a threatened specie in the wild with limited successful management in captivity due to diagnosed hypertension and suspected diabetic conditions. Six woolly monkeys with known hypertension problems were tested to determine if diabetes mellitus and current

Comparative imaging study on monkeys with hemi-parkinsonism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Wei; Yu Xiaoping; Mao Jun; Liu Sheng; Wang Xiaoyi; Peng Guangchun; Wang Ruiwen

2003-01-01

Objective: To study the imaging appearance of experimental Parkinson's disease (PD) and to evaluate the different medical imaging exams on PD. Methods: CT, MRI, SPECT (dopamine transporter imaging and regional cerebral blood flow imaging, DAT imaging and rCBF imaging), and PET (glucose metabolism imaging) were performed on 8 monkeys before and after the infusion of MPTP into unilateral internal carotid artery to develop hemi-Parkinsonism models. Results: Hemi-Parkinsonism models were successfully induced on all 8 monkeys. On DAT imaging, the uptake values of the lesioned striatums decreased obviously after the MPTP treatment and were lower than that of the contralateral ones. The glucose metabolic rates of the lesioned striatums and thalamus in PD models were lower, compared to that of the healthy monkeys and that of the contralateral sides of themselves. Neither DAT nor glucose metabolism abnormalities was found on both the contralateral sides of the healthy and PD monkeys. On MRI images before MPTP treatment, only 4 of 8 PD models showed hypointense in bilateral globus pallidus. No abnormal MRI findings occurred in the first 2 months after injection of MPTP. At tile third month, hypointense appeared in globus pallidus of three monkeys. Enlarged hyposignal region in globus pallidus were found in three models. Of the above 6 monkeys, two appeared hypointense in putamina. Substantia nigra demonstrated no abnormalities before and after MPTP treatment. All rCBF and CT images were normal. Conclusion: The decreased density of DAT and decreased glucose metabolism on experimental PD can be showed early by DAT imaging and glucose metabolism imaging, MRI can show abnormal signal in the basal ganglia of PD but it is later than DAT and glucose metabolism imaging. CT and rCBF find no abnormality on PD

Widespread and evolutionary analysis of a MITE family Monkey King in Brassicaceae.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Shutao; Hou, Jinna; Long, Yan; Wang, Jing; Li, Cong; Xiao, Qinqin; Jiang, Xiaoxue; Zou, Xiaoxiao; Zou, Jun; Meng, Jinling

2015-06-19

Miniature inverted repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are important components of eukaryotic genomes, with hundreds of families and many copies, which may play important roles in gene regulation and genome evolution. However, few studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms involved. In our previous study, a Tourist-like MITE, Monkey King, was identified from the promoter region of a flowering time gene, BnFLC.A10, in Brassica napus. Based on this MITE, the characteristics and potential roles on gene regulation of the MITE family were analyzed in Brassicaceae. The characteristics of the Tourist-like MITE family Monkey King in Brassicaceae, including its distribution, copies and insertion sites in the genomes of major Brassicaceae species were analyzed in this study. Monkey King was actively amplified in Brassica after divergence from Arabidopsis, which was indicated by the prompt increase in copy number and by phylogenetic analysis. The genomic variations caused by Monkey King insertions, both intra- and inter-species in Brassica, were traced by PCR amplification. Genomic sequence analysis showed that most complete Monkey King elements are located in gene-rich regions, less than 3kb from genes, in both the B. rapa and A. thaliana genomes. Sixty-seven Brassica expressed sequence tags carrying Monkey King fragments were also identified from the NCBI database. Bisulfite sequencing identified specific DNA methylation of cytosine residues in the Monkey King sequence. A fragment containing putative TATA-box motifs in the MITE sequence could bind with nuclear protein(s) extracted from leaves of B. napus plants. A Monkey King-related microRNA, bna-miR6031, was identified in the microRNA database. In transgenic A. thaliana, when the Monkey King element was inserted upstream of 35S promoter, the promoter activity was weakened. Monkey King, a Brassicaceae Tourist-like MITE family, has amplified relatively recently and has induced intra- and inter-species genomic

Transmission of naturally occurring lymphoma in macaque monkeys.

OpenAIRE

Hunt, R D; Blake, B J; Chalifoux, L V; Sehgal, P K; King, N W; Letvin, N L

1983-01-01

Spontaneously occurring rhesus monkey lymphomas were transmitted into healthy rhesus monkeys by using tumor cell suspensions. The naturally arising tumors included an immunoblastic sarcoma and an undifferentiated lymphoma. Recipient animals developed undifferentiated lymphomas, poorly differentiated lymphomas, or parenchymal lymphoproliferative abnormalities suggestive of early lesions of lymphoma. Some of these animals developed such opportunistic infections as cytomegalovirus hepatitis and ...

Monkey-based research on human disease: the implications of genetic differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Jarrod

2014-11-01

Assertions that the use of monkeys to investigate human diseases is valid scientifically are frequently based on a reported 90-93% genetic similarity between the species. Critical analyses of the relevance of monkey studies to human biology, however, indicate that this genetic similarity does not result in sufficient physiological similarity for monkeys to constitute good models for research, and that monkey data do not translate well to progress in clinical practice for humans. Salient examples include the failure of new drugs in clinical trials, the highly different infectivity and pathology of SIV/HIV, and poor extrapolation of research on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and stroke. The major molecular differences underlying these inter-species phenotypic disparities have been revealed by comparative genomics and molecular biology - there are key differences in all aspects of gene expression and protein function, from chromosome and chromatin structure to post-translational modification. The collective effects of these differences are striking, extensive and widespread, and they show that the superficial similarity between human and monkey genetic sequences is of little benefit for biomedical research. The extrapolation of biomedical data from monkeys to humans is therefore highly unreliable, and the use of monkeys must be considered of questionable value, particularly given the breadth and potential of alternative methods of enquiry that are currently available to scientists. 2014 FRAME.

Biogeography of squirrel monkeys (genus Saimiri): South-central Amazon origin and rapid pan-Amazonian diversification of a lowland primate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch Alfaro, Jessica W; Boubli, Jean P; Paim, Fernanda P; Ribas, Camila C; Silva, Maria Nazareth F da; Messias, Mariluce R; Röhe, Fabio; Mercês, Michelle P; Silva Júnior, José S; Silva, Claudia R; Pinho, Gabriela M; Koshkarian, Gohar; Nguyen, Mai T T; Harada, Maria L; Rabelo, Rafael M; Queiroz, Helder L; Alfaro, Michael E; Farias, Izeni P

2015-01-01

The squirrel monkey, Saimiri, is a pan-Amazonian Pleistocene radiation. We use statistical phylogeographic methods to create a mitochondrial DNA-based timetree for 118 squirrel monkey samples across 68 localities spanning all Amazonian centers of endemism, with the aim of better understanding (1) the effects of rivers as barriers to dispersal and distribution; (2) the area of origin for modern Saimiri; (3) whether ancestral Saimiri was a lowland lake-affiliated or an upland forest taxa; and (4) the effects of Pleistocene climate fluctuation on speciation. We also use our topology to help resolve current controversies in Saimiri taxonomy and species relationships. The Rondônia and Inambari centers in the southern Amazon were recovered as the most likely areas of origin for Saimiri. The Amazon River proved a strong barrier to dispersal, and squirrel monkey expansion and diversification was rapid, with all speciation events estimated to occur between 1.4 and 0.6Ma, predating the last three glacial maxima and eliminating climate extremes as the main driver of squirrel monkey speciation. Saimiri expansion was concentrated first in central and western Amazonia, which according to the "Young Amazon" hypothesis was just becoming available as floodplain habitat with the draining of the Amazon Lake. Squirrel monkeys also expanded and diversified east, both north and south of the Amazon, coincident with the formation of new rivers. This evolutionary history is most consistent with a Young Amazon Flooded Forest Taxa model, suggesting Saimiri has always maintained a lowland wetlands niche and was able to greatly expand its range with the transition from a lacustrine to a riverine system in Amazonia. Saimiri vanzolinii was recovered as the sister group to one clade of Saimiri ustus, discordant with the traditional Gothic vs. Roman morphological division of squirrel monkeys. We also found paraphyly within each of the currently recognized species: S. sciureus, S. ustus, and S

Intrapericardial Denervation: Responses to Water Immersion in Rhesus Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

McKeever, Kenneth H.; Keil, Lanny C.; Sandler, Harold

1995-01-01

Eleven anesthetized rhesus monkeys were used to study cardiovascular, renal, and endocrine alterations associated with 120 min of head-out water immersion. Five animals underwent complete intrapericardial denervation using the Randall technique, while the remaining six monkeys served as intact controls. Each animal was chronically instrumented with an electromagnetic flow probe on the ascending aorta, a strain gauge pressure transducer implanted in the apex of the left ventricle (LV), and electrocardiogram leads anchored to the chest wall and LV. During immersion, LV end-diastolic pressure, urine flow, glomerular filtration rate, sodium excretion, and circulating atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) each increased (P less than 0.05) for intact and denervated monkeys. There were no alterations in free water clearance in either group during immersion, yet fractional excretion of free water increased (P less than 0.05) in the intact monkeys. Plasma renin activity (PRA) decreased (P less than 0.05) during immersion in intact monkeys but not the denervated animals. Plasma vasopressin (PVP) concentration decreased (P less than 0.05) during the first 30 min of immersion in both groups but was not distinguishable from control by 60 min of immersion in denervated monkeys. These data demonstrate that complete cardiac denervation does not block the rise in plasma ANP or prevent the natriuresis associated with head-out water immersion. The suppression of PVP during the first minutes of immersion after complete cardiac denervation suggests that extracardiac sensing mechanisms associated with the induced fluid shifts may be responsible for the findings.

Lethal canine distemper virus outbreak in cynomolgus monkeys in Japan in 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakai, Kouji; Nagata, Noriyo; Ami, Yasushi; Seki, Fumio; Suzaki, Yuriko; Iwata-Yoshikawa, Naoko; Suzuki, Tadaki; Fukushi, Shuetsu; Mizutani, Tetsuya; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Otsuki, Noriyuki; Kurane, Ichiro; Komase, Katsuhiro; Yamaguchi, Ryoji; Hasegawa, Hideki; Saijo, Masayuki; Takeda, Makoto; Morikawa, Shigeru

2013-01-01

Canine distemper virus (CDV) has recently expanded its host range to nonhuman primates. A large CDV outbreak occurred in rhesus monkeys at a breeding farm in Guangxi Province, China, in 2006, followed by another outbreak in rhesus monkeys at an animal center in Beijing in 2008. In 2008 in Japan, a CDV outbreak also occurred in cynomolgus monkeys imported from China. In that outbreak, 46 monkeys died from severe pneumonia during a quarantine period. A CDV strain (CYN07-dV) was isolated in Vero cells expressing dog signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM). Phylogenic analysis showed that CYN07-dV was closely related to the recent CDV outbreaks in China, suggesting continuing chains of CDV infection in monkeys. In vitro, CYN07-dV uses macaca SLAM and macaca nectin4 as receptors as efficiently as dog SLAM and dog nectin4, respectively. CYN07-dV showed high virulence in experimentally infected cynomolgus monkeys and excreted progeny viruses in oral fluid and feces. These data revealed that some of the CDV strains, like CYN07-dV, have the potential to cause acute systemic infection in monkeys.

Economic choices reveal probability distortion in macaque monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Stauffer, William R; Lak, Armin; Bossaerts, Peter; Schultz, Wolfram

2015-02-18

Economic choices are largely determined by two principal elements, reward value (utility) and probability. Although nonlinear utility functions have been acknowledged for centuries, nonlinear probability weighting (probability distortion) was only recently recognized as a ubiquitous aspect of real-world choice behavior. Even when outcome probabilities are known and acknowledged, human decision makers often overweight low probability outcomes and underweight high probability outcomes. Whereas recent studies measured utility functions and their corresponding neural correlates in monkeys, it is not known whether monkeys distort probability in a manner similar to humans. Therefore, we investigated economic choices in macaque monkeys for evidence of probability distortion. We trained two monkeys to predict reward from probabilistic gambles with constant outcome values (0.5 ml or nothing). The probability of winning was conveyed using explicit visual cues (sector stimuli). Choices between the gambles revealed that the monkeys used the explicit probability information to make meaningful decisions. Using these cues, we measured probability distortion from choices between the gambles and safe rewards. Parametric modeling of the choices revealed classic probability weighting functions with inverted-S shape. Therefore, the animals overweighted low probability rewards and underweighted high probability rewards. Empirical investigation of the behavior verified that the choices were best explained by a combination of nonlinear value and nonlinear probability distortion. Together, these results suggest that probability distortion may reflect evolutionarily preserved neuronal processing. Copyright © 2015 Stauffer et al.

Phylogenetic relations of humans and African apes from DNA sequences in the Psi eta-globin region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyamoto, M.M.; Slightom, J.L.; Goodman, M.

1987-10-16

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 are 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.

PENGARUH PERSEPSI EKOWISATA TERHADAP TINGKAT KEPUASAN WISATAWAN DI MONKEY FOREST UBUD, BALI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Via Reza Efrida

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate (1 the ecotourism perception of tourists visiting Monkey Forest Ubud; (2 the visitor satisfaction level on Monkey Forest Ubud attraction; and (3 the influence of ecotourism perception on visitor satisfaction level at Monkey Forest Ubud. The result of this research carried out descriptive statistic by using an importance-performance analysis (IPA and inferential statistic by using a simple linear regression analysis. The technique of determining sample size is incidental sampling technique by distributing questionnaires to 170 tourists visiting Monkey Forest Ubud. The result showed that tourists which visit Monkey Forest Ubud strongly agree on the implementation of ecotourism concept. On the other hand, the calculation results of concordance rate showed 89.59% which means that the overall tourist is satisfied with the Monkey Forest Ubud attraction. Moreover, based on the hypothesis testing by using t-test statistical significance showed that there is a significant influence of independent variable (perception of ecotourism on the dependent variable (tourist satisfaction.

Reference values of clinical chemistry and hematology parameters in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

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Chen, Younan; Qin, Shengfang; Ding, Yang; Wei, Lingling; Zhang, Jie; Li, Hongxia; Bu, Hong; Lu, Yanrong; Cheng, Jingqiu

2009-01-01

Rhesus monkey models are valuable to the studies of human biology. Reference values for clinical chemistry and hematology parameters of rhesus monkeys are required for proper data interpretation. Whole blood was collected from 36 healthy Chinese rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) of either sex, 3 to 5 yr old. Routine chemistry and hematology parameters, and some special coagulation parameters including thromboelastograph and activities of coagulation factors were tested. We presented here the baseline values of clinical chemistry and hematology parameters in normal Chinese rhesus monkeys. These data may provide valuable information for veterinarians and investigators using rhesus monkeys in experimental studies.

Phytochemical investigation and TLC screening for antioxidant activity of 24 plant species consumed by the Eastern Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla beringei ssp. graueri: Hominidae, Primates) endemic to Democratic Republic of the Congo

OpenAIRE

Koto-te-Nyiwa Ngbolua

2014-01-01

Humans and great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) share a common gut anatomy. Although, some diseases that cause countless deaths in humans are ineffective or have minor non disturbing effects in apes. Because of their phylogenetic closeness and common neural pathways of chemosensory perception, humans and great apes, when displaying symptoms of illness could alter their foraging to ingest non-nutritive chemical as diet (pharmacophagy). The aim of the present study was to...

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

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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.

Short parietal lobe connections of the human and monkey brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Catani, Marco; Robertsson, Naianna; Beyh, Ahmad

2017-01-01

projections were reconstructed for both species and results compared to identify similarities or differences in tract anatomy (i.e., trajectories and cortical projections). In addition, post-mortem dissections were performed in a human brain. The largest tract identified in both human and monkey brains...... and angular gyri of the inferior parietal lobule in humans but only to the supramarginal gyrus in the monkey brain. The third tract connects the postcentral gyrus to the anterior region of the superior parietal lobule and is more prominent in monkeys compared to humans. Finally, short U-shaped fibres...... and monkeys with some differences for those areas that have cytoarchitectonically distinct features in humans. The overall pattern of intraparietal connectivity supports the special role of the inferior parietal lobule in cognitive functions characteristic of humans....

The role of invasive trophoblast in implantation and placentation of primates

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Carter, Anthony M.; Enders, Allen C.; Pijnenborg, Robert

2015-01-01

We here review the evolution of invasive placentation in primates towards the deep penetration of the endometrium and its arteries in hominoids. The strepsirrhine primates (lemurs and lorises) have non-invasive, epitheliochorial placentation, although this is thought to be derived from a more invasive type. In haplorhine primates, there is differentiation of trophoblast at the blastocyst stage into syncytial and cellular trophoblast. Implantation involves syncytiotrophoblast that first removes the uterine epithelium then consolidates at the basal lamina before continuing into the stroma. In later stages of pregnancy, especially in Old World monkeys and apes, cytotrophoblast plays a greater role in the invasive process. Columns of trophoblast cells advance to the base of the implantation site where they spread out to form a cytotrophoblastic shell. In addition, cytotrophoblasts advance into the lumen of the spiral arteries. They are responsible for remodelling these vessels to form wide, low-resistance conduits. In human and great apes, there is additional invasion of the endometrium and its vessels by trophoblasts originating from the base of the anchoring villi. Deep trophoblast invasion that extends remodelling of the spiral arteries to segments in the inner myometrium evolved in the common ancestor of gorilla, chimp and human. PMID:25602074

The role of invasive trophoblast in implantation and placentation of primates.

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Carter, Anthony M; Enders, Allen C; Pijnenborg, Robert

2015-03-05

We here review the evolution of invasive placentation in primates towards the deep penetration of the endometrium and its arteries in hominoids. The strepsirrhine primates (lemurs and lorises) have non-invasive, epitheliochorial placentation, although this is thought to be derived from a more invasive type. In haplorhine primates, there is differentiation of trophoblast at the blastocyst stage into syncytial and cellular trophoblast. Implantation involves syncytiotrophoblast that first removes the uterine epithelium then consolidates at the basal lamina before continuing into the stroma. In later stages of pregnancy, especially in Old World monkeys and apes, cytotrophoblast plays a greater role in the invasive process. Columns of trophoblast cells advance to the base of the implantation site where they spread out to form a cytotrophoblastic shell. In addition, cytotrophoblasts advance into the lumen of the spiral arteries. They are responsible for remodelling these vessels to form wide, low-resistance conduits. In human and great apes, there is additional invasion of the endometrium and its vessels by trophoblasts originating from the base of the anchoring villi. Deep trophoblast invasion that extends remodelling of the spiral arteries to segments in the inner myometrium evolved in the common ancestor of gorilla, chimp and human. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Macaque monkeys can learn token values from human models through vicarious reward.

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Bevacqua, Sara; Cerasti, Erika; Falcone, Rossella; Cervelloni, Milena; Brunamonti, Emiliano; Ferraina, Stefano; Genovesio, Aldo

2013-01-01

Monkeys can learn the symbolic meaning of tokens, and exchange them to get a reward. Monkeys can also learn the symbolic value of a token by observing conspecifics but it is not clear if they can learn passively by observing other actors, e.g., humans. To answer this question, we tested two monkeys in a token exchange paradigm in three experiments. Monkeys learned token values through observation of human models exchanging them. We used, after a phase of object familiarization, different sets of tokens. One token of each set was rewarded with a bit of apple. Other tokens had zero value (neutral tokens). Each token was presented only in one set. During the observation phase, monkeys watched the human model exchange tokens and watched them consume rewards (vicarious rewards). In the test phase, the monkeys were asked to exchange one of the tokens for food reward. Sets of three tokens were used in the first experiment and sets of two tokens were used in the second and third experiments. The valuable token was presented with different probabilities in the observation phase during the first and second experiments in which the monkeys exchanged the valuable token more frequently than any of the neutral tokens. The third experiments examined the effect of unequal probabilities. Our results support the view that monkeys can learn from non-conspecific actors through vicarious reward, even a symbolic task like the token-exchange task.

Frequent and recent human acquisition of simian foamy viruses through apes' bites in central Africa.

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Edouard Betsem

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Human infection by simian foamy viruses (SFV can be acquired by persons occupationally exposed to non-human primates (NHP or in natural settings. This study aimed at getting better knowledge on SFV transmission dynamics, risk factors for such a zoonotic infection and, searching for intra-familial dissemination and the level of peripheral blood (proviral loads in infected individuals. We studied 1,321 people from the general adult population (mean age 49 yrs, 640 women and 681 men and 198 individuals, mostly men, all of whom had encountered a NHP with a resulting bite or scratch. All of these, either Pygmies (436 or Bantus (1085 live in villages in South Cameroon. A specific SFV Western blot was used and two nested PCRs (polymerase, and LTR were done on all the positive/borderline samples by serology. In the general population, 2/1,321 (0.2% persons were found to be infected. In the second group, 37/198 (18.6% persons were SFV positive. They were mostly infected by apes (37/39 FV (mainly gorilla. Infection by monkey FV was less frequent (2/39. The viral origin of the amplified sequences matched with the history reported by the hunters, most of which (83% are aged 20 to 40 years and acquired the infection during the last twenty years. The (proviral load in 33 individuals infected by a gorilla FV was quite low (<1 to 145 copies per 10(5 cells in the peripheral blood leucocytes. Of the 30 wives and 12 children from families of FV infected persons, only one woman was seropositive in WB without subsequent viral DNA amplification. We demonstrate a high level of recent transmission of SFVs to humans in natural settings specifically following severe gorilla bites during hunting activities. The virus was found to persist over several years, with low SFV loads in infected persons. Secondary transmission remains an open question.

Oreopithecus was a bipedal ape after all: Evidence from the iliac cancellous architecture

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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

Socialization of adult owl monkeys (Aotus sp.) in Captivity.

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Williams, Lawrence E; Coke, C S; Weed, J L

2017-01-01

Social housing has often been recommended as one-way to address the psychological well-being of captive non-human primates. Published reports have examined methods to socialize compatible animals by forming pairs or groups. Successful socialization rates vary depending on the species, gender, and environment. This study presents a retrospective look at pairing attempts in two species of owl monkeys, Aotus nancymaae and A. azarae, which live in monogamous pairs in the wild. The results of 477 pairing attempt conducted with captive, laboratory housed owl monkeys and 61 hr of behavioral observations are reported here. The greatest success pairing these owl monkeys occurred with opposite sex pairs, with an 82% success rate. Opposite sex pairs were more successful when females were older than males. Female-female pairs were more successful than male-male (MM) pairs (62% vs 40%). Successful pairs stayed together between 3 and 7 years before the animals were separated due to social incompatibility. Vigilance, eating, and sleeping during introductions significantly predicted success, as did the performance of the same behavior in both animals. The results of this analysis show that it is possible to give captive owl monkeys a social alternative even if species appropriate social partners (i.e., opposite sex partners) are not available. The focus of this report is a description of one potential way to enhance the welfare of a specific new world primate, the owl monkey, under laboratory conditions. More important is how the species typical social structure of owl monkeys in nature affects the captive management of this genus. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22521, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The properties of B-form monoamine oxidase in mitochondria from monkey platelet.

Science.gov (United States)

Obata, Toshio; Aomine, Masahiro

The present study was examined the effect of the properties of monkey platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) based on inhibitor sensitivity. Monkey platelet showed a high MAO activity with beta-phenylethylamine (beta-PEA) as substrate and a very low A-form MAO activity with 5 hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) as substrate. Moreover, monkey platelet MAO was sensitive to the drugs deprenyl as B-form MAO inhibitor and less sensitive to clorgyline and harmaline as A form MAO inhibitor with beta-PEA as the B-form MAO substrate. B-form MAO from monkey platelet was more stable against heat treatment at 55 degrees C than B-form MAO in brain. After digestion with trypsin at 37 degrees C for 4 hrs, it was found that MAO from platelet was inhibited about 70% with beta-PEA as substrate with brain. The tricyclic antidepressant imipramine and nortriptyline inhibited B-form MAO activity more potency than B-form MAO in brain. However, when the noncyclic antidepressant nomifensine was used, monkey platelet B-form MAO activities were less potently inhibited. All these reagents were noncompetitive inhibitors of B form MAO in monkey platelet. The present studies demonstrated that monkey platelet MAO is a single of B-form MAO and sensitive to tricyclic antidepressants.

Sporadic Premature Aging in a Japanese Monkey: A Primate Model for Progeria

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Oishi, Takao; Imai, Hiroo; Go, Yasuhiro; Imamura, Masanori; Hirai, Hirohisa; Takada, Masahiko

2014-01-01

In our institute, we have recently found a child Japanese monkey who is characterized by deep wrinkles of the skin and cataract of bilateral eyes. Numbers of analyses were performed to identify symptoms representing different aspects of aging. In this monkey, the cell cycle of fibroblasts at early passage was significantly extended as compared to a normal control. Moreover, both the appearance of senescent cells and the deficiency in DNA repair were observed. Also, pathological examination showed that this monkey has poikiloderma with superficial telangiectasia, and biochemical assay confirmed that levels of HbA1c and urinary hyaluronan were higher than those of other (child, adult, and aged) monkey groups. Of particular interest was that our MRI analysis revealed expansion of the cerebral sulci and lateral ventricles probably due to shrinkage of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus. In addition, the conduction velocity of a peripheral sensory but not motor nerve was lower than in adult and child monkeys, and as low as in aged monkeys. However, we could not detect any individual-unique mutations of known genes responsible for major progeroid syndromes. The present results indicate that the monkey suffers from a kind of progeria that is not necessarily typical to human progeroid syndromes. PMID:25365557

Long term lung clearance and cellular retention of cadmium in rats and monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oberdorster, G.; Cox, C.; Baggs, R.

1987-01-01

The paper describes experiments to determine the long term lung clearance and cellular retention of cadmium in rats and monkeys. The rats and monkeys were exposed to 109 Cd Cl 2 aerosols, and one monkey was exposed to 115 CdO particles. The thoracic activity of the respective Cd isotopes was measured with time after exposure, for both species. Accumulation of 109 Cd in the kidneys of the monkeys exposed to 109 Cd Cl 2 was also examined, and autoradiographs of lung sections of these monkeys were also prepared. The results showed that the cadmium accumulated differently in the lungs of the rats and primates. (U.K.)

Perceptual Learning: 12-Month-Olds' Discrimination of Monkey Faces

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Fair, Joseph; Flom, Ross; Jones, Jacob; Martin, Justin

2012-01-01

Six-month-olds reliably discriminate different monkey and human faces whereas 9-month-olds only discriminate different human faces. It is often falsely assumed that perceptual narrowing reflects a permanent change in perceptual abilities. In 3 experiments, ninety-six 12-month-olds' discrimination of unfamiliar monkey faces was examined. Following…

The Aqua-Planet Experiment (APE): CONTROL SST Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Blackburn, Michael; Williamson, David L.; Nakajima, Kensuke; Ohfuchi, Wataru; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki O.; Hayashi, Yoshi-Yuki; Nakamura, Hisashi; Ishiwatari, Masaki; Mcgregor, John L.; Borth, Hartmut;

[Monkey-pox, a model of emergent then reemergent disease].

Science.gov (United States)

Georges, A J; Matton, T; Courbot-Georges, M C

2004-01-01

The recent emergence of monkey pox in the United States of America highlights the problem (known for other infectious agents) of dissemination of pathogens outside their endemic area, and of subsequent global threats of variable gravity according to agents. It is a real emergency since monkey pox had been confined to Africa for several decades, where small epidemics occurred from time to time, monkey pox is a "miniature smallpox" which, in Africa, evolves on an endemic (zoonotic) mode with, as reservoirs, several species of wild rodents (mainly squirrels) and some monkey species. It can be accidentally transmitted to man then develops as epidemics, sometimes leading to death. The virus was imported in 2003 in the United States of America, via Gambia rats and wild squirrels (all African species), and infected prairie dogs (which are now in fashion as pets), then crossed the species barrier to man. In the United States of America, screening campaigns, epidemiological investigations, and subsequent treatments led to a rapid control of the epidemic, which is a model of emergent disease for this country. Therapeutic and preventive measures directly applicable to monkey pox are discussed. They can also be applied against other pox virus infections (including smallpox). The risk of criminal introduction of pox viruses is discussed since it is, more than ever, a real worldwide threat.

Monkey brain damage from radiation in the therapeutic range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagaki, H.; Brunhart, G.; Kemper, T.L.; Caveness, W.F.

1976-01-01

Twelve Macaca mulatta monkeys received 200 rads of supervoltage radiation to the whole brain per day, 5 days a week. The course in four monkeys was 4 weeks for a total dose of 4000 rads; in four monkeys, 6 weeks for 6000 rads; and in four monkeys, 8 weeks for 8000 rads. Four unirradiated monkeys served as controls. One from each group, sacrificed at 6 and 12 months from start of irradiation, is reported here. The results from 4000 rads were negligible; those from 8000 rads, profound, with gross brain destruction. The results from 6000 rads, within the therapeutic range, included at 6 months punctate necrotic lesions, 1 mm or less, widely scattered but with a predilection for the forebrain white matter. The reaction to these lesions ranged from an early macrophage response to calcification. Some were accompanied by focal edema. There were occasional examples of vascular endothelial proliferation. In addition, there were patches of dilated capillaries or telangiectasia. Twelve months after 6000 rads there were a few mineralized lesions and innumerable minute deposits of calcium and iron. A more active process was suggested by widely disseminated areas of telangiectasia, 6 to 12 mm in extent. The clinical course from this exposure included papilledema from the third to the sixth month and depressed visual evoked response accompanied by delta activity in the electroencephalogram from the sixth to the twelfth month

Basic math in monkeys and college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantlon, Jessica F; Brannon, Elizabeth M

2007-12-01

Adult humans possess a sophisticated repertoire of mathematical faculties. Many of these capacities are rooted in symbolic language and are therefore unlikely to be shared with nonhuman animals. However, a subset of these skills is shared with other animals, and this set is considered a cognitive vestige of our common evolutionary history. Current evidence indicates that humans and nonhuman animals share a core set of abilities for representing and comparing approximate numerosities nonverbally; however, it remains unclear whether nonhuman animals can perform approximate mental arithmetic. Here we show that monkeys can mentally add the numerical values of two sets of objects and choose a visual array that roughly corresponds to the arithmetic sum of these two sets. Furthermore, monkeys' performance during these calculations adheres to the same pattern as humans tested on the same nonverbal addition task. Our data demonstrate that nonverbal arithmetic is not unique to humans but is instead part of an evolutionarily primitive system for mathematical thinking shared by monkeys.

Delayed response task performance as a function of age in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Darusman, H S; Call, J; Sajuthi, D

2014-01-01

We compared delayed response task performance in young, middle-aged, and old cynomolgus monkeys using three memory tests that have been used with non-human primates. Eighteen cynomolgus monkeys-6 young (4-9 years), 6 middle-aged (10-19 years), and 6 old (above 20 years)-were tested. In general......, the old monkeys scored significantly worse than did the animals in the two other age groups. Longer delays between stimulus presentation and response increased the performance differences between the old and younger monkeys. The old monkeys in particular showed signs of impaired visuo-spatial memory...

Molecular characterization of Blastocystis isolates from children and rhesus monkeys in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Yoshikawa, Hisao; Wu, Zhiliang; Pandey, Kishor; Pandey, Basu Dev; Sherchand, Jeevan Bahadur; Yanagi, Tetsuo; Kanbara, Hiroji

2009-03-23

To investigate the possible transmission of Blastocystis organisms between local rhesus monkeys and children in Kathmandu, Nepal, we compared the subtype (ST) and sequence of Blastocystis isolates from children with gastrointestinal symptoms and local rhesus monkeys. Twenty and 10 Blastocystis isolates were established from 82 and 10 fecal samples obtained from children and monkeys, respectively. Subtype analysis with seven sequence-tagged site (STS) primers indicated that the prevalence of Blastocystis sp. ST1, ST2 and ST3 was 20%, 20% and 60% in the child isolates, respectively. In contrast to human isolates, ST3 was not found in monkey isolates and the prevalence of ST1 and ST2 was 50% and 70%, respectively, including three mixed STs1 and 2 and one isolate not amplified by any STS primers, respectively. Since Blastocystis sp. ST2 has been reported as the most dominant genotype in the survey of Blastocystis infection among the various monkey species, sequence comparison of the 150bp variable region of the small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) gene was conducted among ST2 isolates of humans and monkeys. Sequence alignment of 24 clones developed from ST2 isolates of 4 humans and 4 monkeys showed three distinct subgroups, defined as ST2A, ST2B and ST2C. These three subgroups were shared between the child and monkey isolates. These results suggest that the local rhesus monkeys are a possible source of Blastocystis sp. ST2 infection of humans in Kathmandu.

The origin of the RB1 imprint.

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Deniz Kanber

Full Text Available The human RB1 gene is imprinted due to a differentially methylated CpG island in intron 2. This CpG island is part of PPP1R26P1, a truncated retrocopy of PPP1R26, and serves as a promoter for an alternative RB1 transcript. We show here by in silico analyses that the parental PPP1R26 gene is present in the analysed members of Haplorrhini, which comprise Catarrhini (Old World Monkeys, Small apes, Great Apes and Human, Platyrrhini (New World Monkeys and tarsier, and Strepsirrhini (galago. Interestingly, we detected the retrocopy, PPP1R26P1, in all Anthropoidea (Catarrhini and Platyrrhini that we studied but not in tarsier or galago. Additional retrocopies are present in human and chimpanzee on chromosome 22, but their distinct composition indicates that they are the result of independent retrotransposition events. Chimpanzee and marmoset have further retrocopies on chromosome 8 and chromosome 4, respectively. To examine the origin of the RB1 imprint, we compared the methylation patterns of the parental PPP1R26 gene and its retrocopies in different primates (human, chimpanzee, orangutan, rhesus macaque, marmoset and galago. Methylation analysis by deep bisulfite sequencing showed that PPP1R26 is methylated whereas the retrocopy in RB1 intron 2 is differentially methylated in all primates studied. All other retrocopies are fully methylated, except for the additional retrocopy on marmoset chromosome 4, which is also differentially methylated. Using an informative SNP for the methylation analysis in marmoset, we could show that the differential methylation pattern of the retrocopy on chromosome 4 is allele-specific. We conclude that the epigenetic fate of a PPP1R26 retrocopy after integration depends on the DNA sequence and selective forces at the integration site.

A. Femoralis in the small Green Monkey(Cercopithecus aethiops sabeus

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Blagojević Miloš

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The small Green Monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops sabeus in large groups inhabits the African savannah. The animals delivered to us were from East Africa, that is from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The length of the animal is 110 cm, and the tail itself is 50 cm long. They can often be seen in Zoos. According to data, mostly by zoo gardens, these monkeys live for about 15 to 17 years, exceptionally for 20 years. The objective of our work was to investigate a part of their cardiovascular system so in that way to contribute to a better knowledge of this animal body structure and accordingly to comparative anatomy in general. The investigation included 6 Small Green Monkeys, of both gender, 3-4 years old, body weight 2000-3000 grams, obtained from The Institute for Virusology, vaccines and serums from Belgrade. For obtaining the hindlimb arterial vascularization, after exsanguination of the animal, contrast mass of gelatin coloured with tempera was injected into the abdominal aorta. After injecting, the blood vessels were prepared and photographed. In the Small Green Monkey, femoral artery (A. femoralis is an continuation of the external iliac artery (A. iliaca externa. The branches of the femoral artery are: A. profunda femoris, A. saphena, A. genus descendens and A. caudalis femoralis. A. profunda femoris separates to A. circumflexa femoris lateralis, Ramus muscularis and A. circumflexa femoris medialis. In humans A. femoralis branches into: A. epigastrica superficialis, A. circumflexa ilium superficialis, Aa. pudendae externae, A. profunda femoris and A. genus descendens (A. descendens genus. A. profunda femoris branches into: A. circumflexa femoris lateralis, A. circumflexa femoris medialis and Aa. perforantes. In domestic animals, mammals, the branches of the femoral artery (A. femoralis are: A. circumflexa femoris lateralis, A. saphena, A. genus descendens and Aa. caudales femoris In the Small Green Monkey, humans and domestic mammals A. femoralis

Present and potential distribution of Snub-nosed Monkey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nüchel, Jonas; Bøcher, Peder Klith; Svenning, Jens-Christian

are the Snub-nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus), a temperate-subtropical East Asian genus. We use species distribution modeling to assess the following question of key relevancy for conservation management of Rhinopithecus; 1. Which climatic factors determine the present distribution of Rhinopithecus within...... distribution of Rhinopithecus within the region, considering climate, habitat availability and the locations of nature reserves. Keywords: biodiversity, biogeography, conservation, China, snub-nosed monkey, rhinopithecus, primates, species distribution modeling...

A brain MRI atlas of the common squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yurui; Schilling, Kurt G.; Khare, Shweta P.; Panda, Swetasudha; Choe, Ann S.; Stepniewska, Iwona; Li, Xia; Ding, Zhoahua; Anderson, Adam; Landman, Bennett A.

2014-03-01

The common squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus, is a New World monkey with functional and microstructural organization of central nervous system similar to that of humans. It is one of the most commonly used South American primates in biomedical research. Unlike its Old World macaque cousins, no digital atlases have described the organization of the squirrel monkey brain. Here, we present a multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) atlas constructed from the brain of an adult female squirrel monkey. In vivo MRI acquisitions include high resolution T2 structural imaging and low resolution diffusion tensor imaging. Ex vivo MRI acquisitions include high resolution T2 structural imaging and high resolution diffusion tensor imaging. Cortical regions were manually annotated on the co-registered volumes based on published histological sections.

Object permanence in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).

Science.gov (United States)

de Blois, S T; Novak, M A; Bond, M

1998-06-01

The authors tested orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) on object permanence tasks. In Experiment 1, orangutans solved all visible displacements and most invisible displacements except those involving movements into 2 boxes successively. In Experiment 2, performance of orangutans on double invisible displacements and control displacements (assessing simple strategies) was compared. Orangutans did not use the simple strategy of selecting the box visited last by the experimenter. Instead, poorer performance on double invisible displacements may have been related to increased memory requirements. In Experiment 3, squirrel monkeys were tested using the procedure of Experiment 1. Squirrel monkeys solved visible but did not comprehend invisible displacements. Results suggest that orangutans but not squirrel monkeys possess Stage 6 object permanence capabilities.

What interests them in the pictures?--differences in eye-tracking between rhesus monkeys and humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Ying-Zhou; Jiang, Hui-Hui; Liu, Ci-Rong; Wang, Jian-Hong; Yu, Cheng-Yang; Carlson, Synnöve; Yang, Shang-Chuan; Saarinen, Veli-Matti; Rizak, Joshua D; Tian, Xiao-Guang; Tan, Hen; Chen, Zhu-Yue; Ma, Yuan-Ye; Hu, Xin-Tian

2013-10-01

Studies estimating eye movements have demonstrated that non-human primates have fixation patterns similar to humans at the first sight of a picture. In the current study, three sets of pictures containing monkeys, humans or both were presented to rhesus monkeys and humans. The eye movements on these pictures by the two species were recorded using a Tobii eye-tracking system. We found that monkeys paid more attention to the head and body in pictures containing monkeys, whereas both monkeys and humans paid more attention to the head in pictures containing humans. The humans always concentrated on the eyes and head in all the pictures, indicating the social role of facial cues in society. Although humans paid more attention to the hands than monkeys, both monkeys and humans were interested in the hands and what was being done with them in the pictures. This may suggest the importance and necessity of hands for survival. Finally, monkeys scored lower in eye-tracking when fixating on the pictures, as if they were less interested in looking at the screen than humans. The locations of fixation in monkeys may provide insight into the role of eye movements in an evolutionary context.

X-ray induced translocations in premeiotic germ cells of monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buul, P.P.W. van

1991-01-01

Induction of reciprocal translocations by various X-ray exposures was studied in spermatogonial stem cells of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and stump-tailed Macaques (arctoides) by means of spermatocyte analysis many cell generations after irradiation. The yields of trans-locations recovered from irradiated stump-tailed macaques were lower than those observed in rhesus monkeys and represent in fact the lowest induction rates per Gy ever recorded for experimental mammals. In the rhesus monkey a humped dose-effect relationship was found with 1.a homo -geneous response with (pseudo-)linear kinetics below 1 Gy, 2.much more variability at higher doses, and 3.no induction at all at doses of 4 Gy and above. It is suggested that the post-irradiation proliferation differentiation pattern of surviving rhesus monkey spermatogonial stem cells is mainly responsible for these characteristics of the dose-response curve. (author). 41 refs.; 1 fig.; 4 tabs

Single subcutaneous dosing of cefovecin in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakker, J.; Thuesen, Line Risager; Braskamp, G.

2011-01-01

was to determine whether cefovecin is a suitable antibiotic to prevent skin wound infection in rhesus monkeys. Therefore, the pharmacokinetics (PK) of cefovecin after a single subcutaneous injection at 8 mg/kg bodyweight in four rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and sensitivity of bacterial isolates from fresh skin...... wounds were determined. After administration, blood, urine, and feces were collected, and concentrations of cefovecin were determined. Further, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for bacteria isolated from fresh skin wounds of monkeys during a health control program were determined. The mean...... maximum plasma concentration (C(max) ) of cefovecin was 78 µg/mL and was achieved after 57 min. The mean apparent long elimination half-life (t½) was 6.6 h and excretion occurred mainly via urine. The MIC for the majority of the bacteria examined was >100 µg/mL. The PK of cefovecin in rhesus monkeys...

Tooth Wear Inclination in Great Ape Molars.

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Knight-Sadler, Jordan; Fiorenza, Luca

2017-01-01

Primate dietary diversity is reflected in their dental morphology, with differences in size and shape of teeth. In particular, the tooth wear angle can provide insight into a species' ability to break down certain foods. To examine dietary and masticatory information, digitized polygon models of dental casts provide a basis for quantitative analysis of wear associated with tooth attrition. In this study, we analyze and compare the wear patterns of Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorillagorilla and Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii lower molars, focusing on the degree of inclination of specific wear facets. The variation in wear angles appears to be indicative of jaw movements and the specific stresses imposed on food during mastication, reflecting thus the ecology of these species. Orangutans exhibit flatter wear angles, more typical of a diet consisting of hard and brittle foods, while gorillas show a wear pattern with a high degree of inclination, reflecting thus their more leafy diet. Chimpanzees, on the other hand, show intermediate inclinations, a pattern that could be related to their highly variable diet. This method is demonstrated to be a powerful tool for better understanding the relationship between food, mastication and tooth wear processes in living primates, and can be potentially used to reconstruct the diet of fossil species. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Responses of squirrel monkeys to their experimentally modified mobbing calls

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Fichtel, Claudia; Hammerschmidt, Kurt

2003-05-01

Previous acoustic analyses suggested emotion-correlated changes in the acoustic structure of squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) vocalizations. Specifically, calls given in aversive contexts were characterized by an upward shift in frequencies, often accompanied by an increase in amplitude. In order to test whether changes in frequencies or amplitude are indeed relevant for conspecific listeners, playback experiments were conducted in which either frequencies or amplitude of mobbing calls were modified. Latency and first orienting response were measured in playback experiments with six adult squirrel monkeys. After broadcasting yaps with increased frequencies or amplitude, squirrel monkeys showed a longer orienting response towards the speaker than after the corresponding control stimuli. Furthermore, after broadcasting yaps with decreased frequencies or amplitude, squirrel monkeys showed a shorter orienting response towards the speaker than after the corresponding manipulated calls with higher frequencies or amplitude. These results suggest that changes in frequencies or amplitude were perceived by squirrel monkeys, indicating that the relationship between call structure and the underlying affective state of the caller agreed with the listener's assessment of the calls. However, a simultaneous increase in frequencies and amplitude did not lead to an enhanced response, compared to each single parameter. Thus, from the receiver's perspective, both call parameters may mutually replace each other.

Comparative and demographic analysis of orang-utan genomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Locke, Devin P.; Hillier, LaDeana W.; Warren, Wesley C.

2011-01-01

‘Orang-utan’ is derived from a Malay term meaning ‘man of the forest’ and aptly describes the southeast Asian great apes native to Sumatra and Borneo. The orang-utan species, Pongo abelii (Sumatran) and Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean), are the most phylogenetically distant great apes from humans, thereb...

Geophagy in brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) in a lowland tropical rainforest in Colombia.

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Link, Andres; de Luna, Ana Gabriela; Arango, Ricardo; Diaz, Maria Clara

2011-01-01

Spider monkeys and howler monkeys are the only Neotropical primates that eat soil from mineral licks. Not all species within these genera visit mineral licks, and geophagy has been restricted to populations of Ateles belzebuth belzebuth,Ateles belzebuth chamek and Alouatta seniculus in western Amazonian rainforests. With the aid of a camera trap we studied the visitation patterns of a group of brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) to a mineral lick at Serrania de Las Quinchas, in Colombia. Spider monkeys visited the lick frequently throughout the year, with a monthly average of 21.7 ± 7.2 visits per 100 days of camera trapping (n = 14 months). Spider monkeys visited the mineral lick almost always on days with no rain, or very little (<3 mm) rain, suggesting that proximate environmental variables might determine spider monkeys' decisions to come to the ground at the licks. This study expands the geographical occurrence of mineral lick use by spider monkeys providing additional data for future assessments on the biogeographical correlates of mineral lick use by platyrrhines. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Characterization of the Sweet Taste Receptor Tas1r2 from an Old World Monkey Species Rhesus Monkey and Species-Dependent Activation of the Monomeric Receptor by an Intense Sweetener Perillartine.

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Chenggu Cai

Full Text Available Sweet state is a basic physiological sensation of humans and other mammals which is mediated by the broadly acting sweet taste receptor-the heterodimer of Tas1r2 (taste receptor type 1 member 2 and Tas1r3 (taste receptor type 1 member 3. Various sweeteners interact with either Tas1r2 or Tas1r3 and then activate the receptor. In this study, we cloned, expressed and functionally characterized the taste receptor Tas1r2 from a species of Old World monkeys, the rhesus monkey. Paired with the human TAS1R3, it was shown that the rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could respond to natural sugars, amino acids and their derivates. Furthermore, similar to human TAS1R2, rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could respond to artificial sweeteners and sweet-tasting proteins. However, the responses induced by rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could not be inhibited by the sweet inhibitor amiloride. Moreover, we found a species-dependent activation of the Tas1r2 monomeric receptors of human, rhesus monkey and squirrel monkey but not mouse by an intense sweetener perillartine. Molecular modeling and sequence analysis indicate that the receptor has the conserved domains and ligand-specific interactive residues, which have been identified in the characterized sweet taste receptors up to now. This is the first report of the functional characterization of sweet taste receptors from an Old World monkey species.

Characterization of the Sweet Taste Receptor Tas1r2 from an Old World Monkey Species Rhesus Monkey and Species-Dependent Activation of the Monomeric Receptor by an Intense Sweetener Perillartine.

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Cai, Chenggu; Jiang, Hua; Li, Lei; Liu, Tianming; Song, Xuejie; Liu, Bo

2016-01-01

Sweet state is a basic physiological sensation of humans and other mammals which is mediated by the broadly acting sweet taste receptor-the heterodimer of Tas1r2 (taste receptor type 1 member 2) and Tas1r3 (taste receptor type 1 member 3). Various sweeteners interact with either Tas1r2 or Tas1r3 and then activate the receptor. In this study, we cloned, expressed and functionally characterized the taste receptor Tas1r2 from a species of Old World monkeys, the rhesus monkey. Paired with the human TAS1R3, it was shown that the rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could respond to natural sugars, amino acids and their derivates. Furthermore, similar to human TAS1R2, rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could respond to artificial sweeteners and sweet-tasting proteins. However, the responses induced by rhesus monkey Tas1r2 could not be inhibited by the sweet inhibitor amiloride. Moreover, we found a species-dependent activation of the Tas1r2 monomeric receptors of human, rhesus monkey and squirrel monkey but not mouse by an intense sweetener perillartine. Molecular modeling and sequence analysis indicate that the receptor has the conserved domains and ligand-specific interactive residues, which have been identified in the characterized sweet taste receptors up to now. This is the first report of the functional characterization of sweet taste receptors from an Old World monkey species.

Heterochrony and cross-species intersensory matching by infant vervet monkeys.

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Shahin Zangenehpour

Full Text Available Understanding the evolutionary origins of a phenotype requires understanding the relationship between ontogenetic and phylogenetic processes. Human infants have been shown to undergo a process of perceptual narrowing during their first year of life, whereby their intersensory ability to match the faces and voices of another species declines as they get older. We investigated the evolutionary origins of this behavioral phenotype by examining whether or not this developmental process occurs in non-human primates as well.We tested the ability of infant vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops, ranging in age from 23 to 65 weeks, to match the faces and voices of another non-human primate species (the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. Even though the vervets had no prior exposure to rhesus monkey faces and vocalizations, our findings show that infant vervets can, in fact, recognize the correspondence between rhesus monkey faces and voices (but indicate that they do so by looking at the non-matching face for a greater proportion of overall looking time, and can do so well beyond the age of perceptual narrowing in human infants. Our results further suggest that the pattern of matching by vervet monkeys is influenced by the emotional saliency of the Face+Voice combination. That is, although they looked at the non-matching screen for Face+Voice combinations, they switched to looking at the matching screen when the Voice was replaced with a complex tone of equal duration. Furthermore, an analysis of pupillary responses revealed that their pupils showed greater dilation when looking at the matching natural face/voice combination versus the face/tone combination.Because the infant vervets in the current study exhibited cross-species intersensory matching far later in development than do human infants, our findings suggest either that intersensory perceptual narrowing does not occur in Old World monkeys or that it occurs later in development. We argue that these

Neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive neurons in the cerebral cortex of humans and other haplorrhine primates

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Raghanti, Mary Ann; Conley, Tiffini; Sudduth, Jessica; Erwin, Joseph M.; Stimpson, Cheryl D.; Hof, Patrick R.; Sherwood, Chet C.

2012-01-01

We examined the distribution of neurons immunoreactive for neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the posterior part of the superior temporal cortex (Brodmann's area 22 or area Tpt) of humans and nonhuman haplorrhine primates. NPY has been implicated in learning and memory and the density of NPY-expressing cortical neurons and axons is reduced in depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Due to the role that NPY plays in both cognition and neurodegenerative diseases, we tested the hypothesis that the density of cortical and interstitial neurons expressing NPY was increased in humans relative to other primate species. The study sample included great apes (chimpanzee and gorilla), Old World monkeys (pigtailed macaque, moor macaque, and baboon) and New World monkeys (squirrel monkey and capuchin). Stereologic methods were used to estimate the density of NPY-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons in layers I-VI of area Tpt and the subjacent white matter. Adjacent Nissl-stained sections were used to calculate local densities of all neurons. The ratio of NPY-ir neurons to total neurons within area Tpt and the total density of NPY-ir neurons within the white matter were compared among species. Overall, NPY-ir neurons represented only an average of 0.006% of the total neuron population. While there were significant differences among species, phylogenetic trends in NPY-ir neuron distributions were not observed and humans did not differ from other primates. However, variation among species warrants further investigation into the distribution of this neuromodulator system. PMID:23042407

Movement disorders induced in monkeys by chronic haloperidol treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiss, B; Santelli, S; Lusink, G

1977-01-01

After several months of treatment, Cebus apella, Cebus albifrons, and Saimiri sciurea monkeys maintained on haloperidol, in doses of 0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg orally 5 days per week, began to display severe movement disorders, typically 1 to 6 h post-drug. Cebus monkeys exhibited violent, uncontrolled movements that flung the animals about the cage. Such episodes usually lasted only a few minutes, recurring several times during the period following drug ingestion. Writhing and bizarre postures dominated the response in S. sciurea. Cessation of drug treatment produced no distinctive after-effects. When tested as long as 508 days after the last administration, however, Cebus monkeys responded to haloperidol with several episodes of hyperkinesis, even at challenge doses considerably lower than those in the original treatment.

Placental Transport of Zidovudine in the Rhesus Monkey

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King, Thomas S.; Henderson, George I.; Schenker, Steven; Schenken, Robert S.

1993-01-01

Objective: This study was undertaken to characterize the pharmacokinetics of zidovudine (ZDV) and ZDV-glucuronide (ZDVG) in the material and :fetal circulations of the rhesus monkey. Methods: Cannulas were placed in the maternal external jugular and the fetal internal jugular and carotid artery in 8 pregnant monkeys at .120–130 days gestation. ZDV (3.5 mg/kg) was administered to 5 monkeys and ZDVG (3.5 mg/kg) to 3 monkeys as single intravenous bolus infusions through the maternal catheter. Maternal and fetal blood , samples were collected every 20 min for the first 2 h and then every hour for the next 4 h. Maternal and fetal concentrations of ZDV and ZDVG were determined using high, performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection. Results: In monkeys who received ZDV, the terminal half-life (T1/2) for ZDV was 37±15 and 33 ± 13 min in the maternal and fetal compartments, respectively. The apparent T1/2 for maternal ZDVG was 124 ± 44 and 142 ± 50 min in the maternal and fetal compartments, respectively. Peak levels of ZDV and ZDVG in the fetal compartment were reached 40 min after injection. The mean fetal/maternal concentration ratios for ZDV and ZDVG ranged from 0.20 ± 0.20 at 20 min to a maximum of 0.74 ± 1.0 at 120 min and from 0.28 ± 0.08 at 20 min to 1.4 ± 1.3 at 180 min, respectively. In monkeys who received ZDVG, the T1/2 for ZDWG in the maternal and fetal compartments was 47 ± 26 and 119 ± 164 min, respectively. ZDVG reached its peak in the fetal compartment at 60 min post-injection. The fetal/maternal rafio ranged from 0.08 ± 0.11 at 20 min to 4.2 ± 4.2 at 180 min post-injection. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that 1) ZDV and ZDVG rapidly cross the placenta to the fetal compartment, 2) ZDV crosses more rapidly than ZDVG, and 3) some metabolism of ZDV to ZDVG occurs in the fetal compartment. PMID:18475334

Pathogenesis of Rift Valley Fever in Rhesus Monkeys: Role of Interferon Response

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

hemorrhagic fever characterized by epistaxis, petechial to purpuric cutaneous lesions, anorexia, and vomiting prior to death. The 14 remaining monkeys survived...DMI, FILE Copy Arch Virol (1990) 110: 195-212 Amhivesirology ( by Springer-Verlag 1990 00 N Pathogenesis of Rift Valley fever in rhesus monkeys: (NI...inoculated intravenously with Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus presented clinical disease syndromes similar to human cases of RVF. All 17 infected monkeys

Distribution of [1-14C]acrylonitrile in rat and monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandberg, E.Ch.; Slanina, P.

1980-01-01

The distribution of [1- 14 C]acrylonitrile (ACN) in rat and monkey has been studied by whole-body autoradiography, after being administered orally and intravenously to rats and orally to monkeys. Uptake of radioactivity was seen in the blood, liver, kidney, lung, adrenal cortex and stomach mucosa. (Auth.)

Mutant alpha-synuclein causes age-dependent neuropathology in monkey brain.

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Yang, Weili; Wang, Guohao; Wang, Chuan-En; Guo, Xiangyu; Yin, Peng; Gao, Jinquan; Tu, Zhuchi; Wang, Zhengbo; Wu, Jing; Hu, Xintian; Li, Shihua; Li, Xiao-Jiang

2015-05-27

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-dependent neurodegenerative disease that often occurs in those over age 60. Although rodents and small animals have been used widely to model PD and investigate its pathology, their short life span makes it difficult to assess the aging-related pathology that is likely to occur in PD patient brains. Here, we used brain tissues from rhesus monkeys at 2-3, 7-8, and >15 years of age to examine the expression of Parkin, PINK1, and α-synuclein, which are known to cause PD via loss- or gain-of-function mechanisms. We found that α-synuclein is increased in the older monkey brains, whereas Parkin and PINK1 are decreased or remain unchanged. Because of the gain of toxicity of α-synuclein, we performed stereotaxic injection of lentiviral vectors expressing mutant α-synuclein (A53T) into the substantia nigra of monkeys and found that aging also increases the accumulation of A53T in neurites and its associated neuropathology. A53T also causes more extensive reactive astrocytes and axonal degeneration in monkey brain than in mouse brain. Using monkey brain tissues, we found that A53T interacts with neurofascin, an adhesion molecule involved in axon subcellular targeting and neurite outgrowth. Aged monkey brain tissues show an increased interaction of neurofascin with A53T. Overexpression of A53T causes neuritic toxicity in cultured neuronal cells, which can be attenuated by transfected neurofascin. These findings from nonhuman primate brains reveal age-dependent pathological and molecular changes that could contribute to the age-dependent neuropathology in PD. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/358345-14$15.00/0.

SV40 host-substituted variants: a new look at the monkey DNA inserts and recombinant junctions.

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Singer, Maxine; Winocour, Ernest

2011-04-10

The available monkey genomic data banks were examined in order to determine the chromosomal locations of the host DNA inserts in 8 host-substituted SV40 variant DNAs. Five of the 8 variants contained more than one linked monkey DNA insert per tandem repeat unit and in all cases but one, the 19 monkey DNA inserts in the 8 variants mapped to different locations in the monkey genome. The 50 parental DNAs (32 monkey and 18 SV40 DNA segments) which spanned the crossover and flanking regions that participated in monkey/monkey and monkey/SV40 recombinations were characterized by substantial levels of microhomology of up to 8 nucleotides in length; the parental DNAs also exhibited direct and inverted repeats at or adjacent to the crossover sequences. We discuss how the host-substituted SV40 variants arose and the nature of the recombination mechanisms involved. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Loss of metabolites from monkey striatum during PET with FDOPA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cumming, P; Munk, O L; Doudet, D

2001-01-01

constants using data recorded during 240 min of FDOPA circulation in normal monkeys and in monkeys with unilateral 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) lesions. Use of the extended models increased the magnitudes of K(D)(i) and k(D)(3) in striatum; in the case of k(D)(3), variance...... of the estimate was substantially improved upon correction for metabolite loss. The rate constants for metabolite loss were higher in MPTP-lesioned monkey striatum than in normal striatum. The high correlation between individual estimates of k(Lin)(cl) and k(DA)(9) suggests that both rate constants reveal loss...

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

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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…

Construction and evaluation of novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vaccine vectors.

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Abbink, Peter; Maxfield, Lori F; Ng'ang'a, David; Borducchi, Erica N; Iampietro, M Justin; Bricault, Christine A; Teigler, Jeffrey E; Blackmore, Stephen; Parenteau, Lily; Wagh, Kshitij; Handley, Scott A; Zhao, Guoyan; Virgin, Herbert W; Korber, Bette; Barouch, Dan H

2015-02-01

Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. The phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide. More distantly related adenoviruses may therefore offer advantages as vaccine vectors. Here we describe the primary isolation and vectorization of three novel adenoviruses from rhesus monkeys. The seroprevalence of these novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vectors was extremely low in sub-Saharan Africa human populations, and these vectors proved to have immunogenicity comparable to that of human and chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine vectors in mice. These rhesus monkey adenoviruses phylogenetically clustered with the poorly described adenovirus species G and robustly stimulated innate immune responses. These novel adenoviruses represent a new class of candidate vaccine vectors. Although there have been substantial efforts in the development of vaccine vectors from human and chimpanzee adenoviruses, far less is known about rhesus monkey adenoviruses. In this report, we describe the isolation and vectorization of three novel rhesus monkey adenoviruses. These vectors exhibit virologic and immunologic characteristics that make them attractive as potential candidate vaccine vectors for both HIV-1 and other pathogens. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference of vascular endothelial growth factor in monkey eyes with iris neovascularization.

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Yuan, Meng-Ke; Tao, Yong; Yu, Wen-Zhen; Kai, Wang; Jiang, Yan-Rong

2010-08-25

To explore the in vivo anti-angiogenesis effects resulting from lentivirus-mediated RNAi of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in monkeys with iris neovascularization (INV). Five specific recombinant lentiviral vectors for RNA interference, targeting Macaca mulatta VEGFA, were designed and the one with best knock down efficacy (LV-GFP-VEGFi1) in H1299 cells and RF/6A cells was selected by real-time PCR for in vivo use. A laser-induced retinal vein occlusion model was established in one eye of seven cynomolgus monkeys. In monkeys number 1, 3, and 5 (Group 1), the virus (1x10(8) particles) was intravitreally injected into the preretinal space of the animal's eye immediately after laser coagulation; and in monkeys number 2, 4, and 6 (Group 2), the virus (1x10(8) particles) was injected at 10 days after laser coagulation. In monkey number 7, a blank control injection was performed. In monkeys number 1 and 2, virus without RNAi sequence was used; in monkeys number 3 and 4, virus with nonspecific RNAi sequence was used; and in monkeys 5 and 6, LV-GFP-VEGFi1 was used. In monkey number 5, at 23 days after laser treatment, no obvious INV was observed, while fluorescein angiography of the iris revealed high fluorescence at the margin of pupil and point posterior synechiae. At 50 days after laser treatment, only a slight ectropion uvea was found. However, in the other eyes, obvious INV or hyphema was observed. The densities of new iridic vessels all significantly varied: between monkey number 5 and number 3 (36.01+/-4.49/mm(2) versus 48.68+/-9.30/mm(2), p=0.025), between monkey number 3 and monkey number 7 (48.68+/-9.30/mm(2) versus 74.38+/-9.23/mm(2), p=0.002), and between monkey number 5 and number 7 (36.01+/-4.49/mm(2) versus 74.38+/-9.23/mm(2), p<0.001). Lentivirus-mediated RNAi of VEGF may be a new strategy to treat iris neovascularization, while further studies are needed to investigate the long-term effect.

Human-Rhesus Monkey conflict at Rampur Village under Monohardi Upazila in Narsingdi District of Bangladesh

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M.F. Ahsan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Human-Rhesus monkey conflicts were recorded at Rampur Village under Khidirpur Union Parishad of Monohardi upazila under Narsingdi District in Bangladesh from April to September 2012. There were three groups of Rhesus monkeys living in the area. The focal study group comprised 26 individuals (4 adult males, 6 adult females, 10 juveniles and 6 infants. The monkeys consumed parts of 10 plant species. From the questionnaire survey, it was found that the greatest damage caused by monkeys was on betel leaf vines and the least damage on vegetables. Eighty percent respondents opted to conserve the monkeys and 20% opined status quo. Some restricted areas (especially khas lands may be identified and planted with some fruit trees for survival of monkeys and for reducing conflicts with humans.

Neurons in the monkey amygdala detect eye-contact during naturalistic social interactions

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Mosher, Clayton P.; Zimmerman, Prisca E.; Gothard, Katalin M.

2014-01-01

Summary Primates explore the visual world through eye-movement sequences. Saccades bring details of interest into the fovea while fixations stabilize the image [1]. During natural vision, social primates direct their gaze at the eyes of others to communicate their own emotions and intentions and to gather information about the mental states of others [2]. Direct gaze is an integral part of facial expressions that signals cooperation or conflict over resources and social status [3-6]. Despite the great importance of making and breaking eye contact in the behavioral repertoire of primates, little is known about the neural substrates that support these behaviors. Here we show that the monkey amygdala contains neurons that respond selectively to fixations at the eyes of others and to eye contact. These “eye cells” share several features with the canonical, visually responsive neurons in the monkey amygdala, however, they respond to the eyes only when they fall within the fovea of the viewer, either as a result of a deliberate saccade, or as eyes move into the fovea of the viewer during a fixation intended to explore a different feature. The presence of eyes in peripheral vision fails to activate the eye cells. These findings link the primate amygdala to eye-movements involved in the exploration and selection of details in visual scenes that contain socially and emotionally salient features. PMID:25283782

Neurons in the monkey amygdala detect eye contact during naturalistic social interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosher, Clayton P; Zimmerman, Prisca E; Gothard, Katalin M

2014-10-20

Primates explore the visual world through eye-movement sequences. Saccades bring details of interest into the fovea, while fixations stabilize the image. During natural vision, social primates direct their gaze at the eyes of others to communicate their own emotions and intentions and to gather information about the mental states of others. Direct gaze is an integral part of facial expressions that signals cooperation or conflict over resources and social status. Despite the great importance of making and breaking eye contact in the behavioral repertoire of primates, little is known about the neural substrates that support these behaviors. Here we show that the monkey amygdala contains neurons that respond selectively to fixations on the eyes of others and to eye contact. These "eye cells" share several features with the canonical, visually responsive neurons in the monkey amygdala; however, they respond to the eyes only when they fall within the fovea of the viewer, either as a result of a deliberate saccade or as eyes move into the fovea of the viewer during a fixation intended to explore a different feature. The presence of eyes in peripheral vision fails to activate the eye cells. These findings link the primate amygdala to eye movements involved in the exploration and selection of details in visual scenes that contain socially and emotionally salient features. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Primate pelvic anatomy and implications for birth

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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

Ethograms indicate stable well-being during prolonged training phases in rhesus monkeys used in neurophysiological research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hage, Steffen R; Ott, Torben; Eiselt, Anne-Kathrin; Jacob, Simon N; Nieder, Andreas

2014-01-01

Awake, behaving rhesus monkeys are widely used in neurophysiological research. Neural signals are typically measured from monkeys trained with operant conditioning techniques to perform a variety of behavioral tasks in exchange for rewards. Over the past years, monkeys' psychological well-being during experimentation has become an increasingly important concern. We suggest objective criteria to explore whether training sessions during which the monkeys work under controlled water intake over many days might affect their behavior. With that aim, we analyzed a broad range of species-specific behaviors over several months ('ethogram') and used these ethograms as a proxy for the monkeys' well-being. Our results show that monkeys' behavior during training sessions is unaffected by the duration of training-free days in-between. Independently of the number of training-free days (two or nine days) with ad libitum food and water supply, the monkeys were equally active and alert in their home group cages during training phases. This indicates that the monkeys were well habituated to prolonged working schedules and that their well-being was stably ensured during the training sessions.

Response of sublethally irradiated monkeys to a replicating viral antigen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilmas, D.E.; Spertzel, R.O.

1975-01-01

Temporal effects of exposure to sublethal, total-body x radiation (400 R) on responses to vaccination with the attenuated Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis vaccine virus, TC-83, were examined in rhesus monkeys. Viremia, often with delayed onset, was prolonged even when irradiation preceded vaccination by 28 days. Virus titers were increased, particularly in groups irradiated 4 or 7 days before vaccination. Delay in appearance of hemagglutination-inhibition and serum-neutralizing antibody correlated closely with persistence of viremia in irradiated-vaccinated monkeys. The temporal course of antibody response was markedly affected by the interval between irradiation and injection of this replicating antigen. With longer intervals between irradiation and vaccination, the somewhat depressed antibody responses approached normal or surpassed those of nonirradiated monkeys. Vaccination 14 days after radiation exposure resulted in lethality to 8 of 12 monkeys, apparently as a result of secondary infection. The additional lymphopenic stress due to the effect of TC-83, superimposed on the severely depressed hematopoietic competence at 14 days, undoubtedly contributed to this increased susceptibility to latent infection

Monkeying around: Use of Survey Monkey as a Tool for School Social Work

Science.gov (United States)

Massat, Carol Rippey; McKay, Cassandra; Moses, Helene

2009-01-01

This article describes the use of an online survey tool called Survey Monkey, which can be used by school social workers and school social work educators for evaluation of practice, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Examples of questions are given. Principles of writing good survey questions are described. (Contains 2 tables and 1…

Plasma disappearance, urine excretion, and tissue distribution of ribavirin in rats and rhesus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrara, E.A.; Oishi, J.S.; Wannemacher, R.W. Jr.; Stephen, E.L.

1981-01-01

Ribavirin has been shown to have broad-spectrum antiviral. To study its tissue distribution and disappearance rate, a single dose of 10 mg/kg which contained 10 microCi of [14C]ribavirin was injected intravenously into rhesus monkeys and intramuscularly into monkeys and rats. Except for peak plasma concentrations and the initial phases of the plasma disappearance and urine excretion curves, no significant difference was observed between plasma, tissue, or urine values for intramuscularly or intravenously injected monkeys. Plasma disappearance curves were triphasic; plasma concentrations of ribavirin were similar for both monkeys and rats. Rats excreted ribavirin in the urine more rapidly and to a greater extent (82% excreted in 24 h) than did monkeys (60% excreted in 72 h). In the rat, only 3% of the injected [14C]ribavirin was detected in expired CO2. Therefore, for both species, urine was the major route for the elimination of labeled ribavirin and its metabolites from the body. In monkeys, the amount of parent drug in blood cells increased through 48 h and remained stable for 72 h, whereas in rats, ribavirin decreased at a rate similar to the plasma disappearance curve. Concentrations of ribavirin at 8 h were consistently higher in monkeys than in rats for all tissues except the brain. Thus, these differences in blood cellular components and organ content and in urine excretion suggested that there was greater tissue retention of ribavirin in monkeys than in rats

The neonatal marmoset monkey ovary is very primitive exhibiting many oogonia

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Fereydouni, B; Drummer, C; Aeckerle, N; Schlatt, S; Behr, R

2014-01-01

Oogonia are characterized by diploidy and mitotic proliferation. Human and mouse oogonia express several factors such as OCT4, which are characteristic of pluripotent cells. In human, almost all oogonia enter meiosis between weeks 9 and 22 of prenatal development or undergo mitotic arrest and subsequent elimination from the ovary. As a consequence, neonatal human ovaries generally lack oogonia. The same was found in neonatal ovaries of the rhesus monkey, a representative of the old world monkeys (Catarrhini). By contrast, proliferating oogonia were found in adult prosimians (now called Strepsirrhini), which is a group of ‘lower’ primates. The common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus) belongs to the new world monkeys (Platyrrhini) and is increasingly used in reproductive biology and stem cell research. However, ovarian development in the marmoset monkey has not been widely investigated. Herein, we show that the neonatal marmoset ovary has an extremely immature histological appearance compared with the human ovary. It contains numerous oogonia expressing the pluripotency factors OCT4A, SALL4, and LIN28A (LIN28). The pluripotency factor-positive germ cells also express the proliferation marker MKI67 (Ki-67), which has previously been shown in the human ovary to be restricted to premeiotic germ cells. Together, the data demonstrate the primitiveness of the neonatal marmoset ovary compared with human. This study may introduce the marmoset monkey as a non-human primate model to experimentally study the aspects of primate primitive gonad development, follicle assembly, and germ cell biology in vivo. PMID:24840529

Event-based proactive interference in rhesus monkeys.

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Devkar, Deepna T; Wright, Anthony A

2016-10-01

Three rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were tested in a same/different memory task for proactive interference (PI) from prior trials. PI occurs when a previous sample stimulus appears as a test stimulus on a later trial, does not match the current sample stimulus, and the wrong response "same" is made. Trial-unique pictures (scenes, objects, animals, etc.) were used on most trials, except on trials where the test stimulus matched potentially interfering sample stimulus from a prior trial (1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 trials prior). Greater interference occurred when fewer trials separated interference and test. PI functions showed a continuum of interference. Delays between sample and test stimuli and intertrial intervals were manipulated to test how PI might vary as a function of elapsed time. Contrary to a similar study with pigeons, these time manipulations had no discernable effect on the monkey's PI, as shown by compete overlap of PI functions with no statistical differences or interactions. These results suggested that interference was strictly based upon the number of intervening events (trials with other pictures) without regard to elapsed time. The monkeys' apparent event-based interference was further supported by retesting with a novel set of 1,024 pictures. PI from novel pictures 1 or 2 trials prior was greater than from familiar pictures, a familiar set of 1,024 pictures. Moreover, when potentially interfering novel stimuli were 16 trials prior, performance accuracy was actually greater than accuracy on baseline trials (no interference), suggesting that remembering stimuli from 16 trials prior was a cue that this stimulus was not the sample stimulus on the current trial-a somewhat surprising conclusion particularly given monkeys.

Stable isotope ratios indicate diet and habitat use in New World monkeys.

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Schoeninger, M J; Iwaniec, U T; Glander, K E

1997-05-01

This paper demonstrates the use of stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in animal tissue for indicating aspects of species behavioral strategy. We analyzed hair from individuals representing four species of New World monkeys (Alouatta palliata, the mantled howler; Ateles geoffroyi, the spider monkey; Cebus capucinus, the capuchin; and Brachyteles arachnoides, the woolly-spider monkey or muriqui) for delta 13C and delta 15N using previously developed methods. There are no significant differences in either carbon or nitrogen ratios between sexes, sampling year, or year of analysis. Seasonal differences in delta 13C reached a low level of significance but do not affect general patterns. Variation within species was similar to that recorded previously within single individuals. The omega 13C data show a bimodal distribution with significant difference between the means. The two monkey populations living in an evergreen forest were similar to each other and different from the other two monkey populations that inhabited dry, deciduous forests. This bimodal distribution is independent of any particular species' diet and reflects the level of leaf cover in the two types of forest. The delta 15N data display three significantly different modes. The omnivorous capuchins were most positive reflecting a trophic level offset. The spider monkeys and the muriquis were similar to one another and significantly more positive than the howlers. This distribution among totally herbivorous species correlates with the ingestion of legumes by the howler monkey population. In combination, these data indicate that museum-curated primate material can be analyzed to yield information on forest cover and diet in populations and species lacking behavioral data.

Making Meaning out of Human/Animal: Scientific Competition of Classifications in the Spanish Legislature

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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…

Predictive and tempo-flexible synchronization to a visual metronome in monkeys.

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Takeya, Ryuji; Kameda, Masashi; Patel, Aniruddh D; Tanaka, Masaki

2017-07-21

Predictive and tempo-flexible synchronization to an auditory beat is a fundamental component of human music. To date, only certain vocal learning species show this behaviour spontaneously. Prior research training macaques (vocal non-learners) to tap to an auditory or visual metronome found their movements to be largely reactive, not predictive. Does this reflect the lack of capacity for predictive synchronization in monkeys, or lack of motivation to exhibit this behaviour? To discriminate these possibilities, we trained monkeys to make synchronized eye movements to a visual metronome. We found that monkeys could generate predictive saccades synchronized to periodic visual stimuli when an immediate reward was given for every predictive movement. This behaviour generalized to novel tempi, and the monkeys could maintain the tempo internally. Furthermore, monkeys could flexibly switch from predictive to reactive saccades when a reward was given for each reactive response. In contrast, when humans were asked to make a sequence of reactive saccades to a visual metronome, they often unintentionally generated predictive movements. These results suggest that even vocal non-learners may have the capacity for predictive and tempo-flexible synchronization to a beat, but that only certain vocal learning species are intrinsically motivated to do it.

Discovery of a Cynomolgus Monkey Family With Retinitis Pigmentosa.

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Ikeda, Yasuhiro; Nishiguchi, Koji M; Miya, Fuyuki; Shimozawa, Nobuhiro; Funatsu, Jun; Nakatake, Shunji; Fujiwara, Kohta; Tachibana, Takashi; Murakami, Yusuke; Hisatomi, Toshio; Yoshida, Shigeo; Yasutomi, Yasuhiro; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko; Nakazawa, Toru; Ishibashi, Tatsuro; Sonoda, Koh-Hei

2018-02-01

To accelerate the development of new therapies, an inherited retinal degeneration model in a nonhuman primate would be useful to confirm the efficacy in preclinical studies. In this study, we describe the discovery of retinitis pigmentosa in a cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) pedigree. First, screening with fundus photography was performed on 1443 monkeys at the Tsukuba Primate Research Center. Ophthalmic examinations, such as indirect ophthalmoscopy, ERGs using RETeval, and optic coherent tomography (OCT) measurement, were then performed to confirm diagnosis. Retinal degeneration with cystoid macular edema was observed in both eyes of one 14-year-old female monkey. In her examinations, the full-field ERGs were nonrecordable and the outer layer of the retina in the parafoveal area was not visible on OCT imaging. Moreover, less frequent pigmentary retinal anomalies also were observed in her 3-year-old nephew. His full-field ERGs were almost nonrecordable and the outer layer was not visible in the peripheral retina. His father was her cousin (the son of her mother's older brother) and his mother was her younger half-sibling sister with a different father. The hereditary nature is highly probable (autosomal recessive inheritance suspected). However, whole-exome analysis performed identified no pathogenic mutations in these monkeys.

Neural Monkey: An Open-source Tool for Sequence Learning

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Helcl Jindřich

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we announce the development of Neural Monkey – an open-source neural machine translation (NMT and general sequence-to-sequence learning system built over the TensorFlow machine learning library. The system provides a high-level API tailored for fast prototyping of complex architectures with multiple sequence encoders and decoders. Models’ overall architecture is specified in easy-to-read configuration files. The long-term goal of the Neural Monkey project is to create and maintain a growing collection of implementations of recently proposed components or methods, and therefore it is designed to be easily extensible. Trained models can be deployed either for batch data processing or as a web service. In the presented paper, we describe the design of the system and introduce the reader to running experiments using Neural Monkey.

Monkey liver cytochrome P450 2C19 is involved in R- and S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation.

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Hosoi, Yoshio; Uno, Yasuhiro; Murayama, Norie; Fujino, Hideki; Shukuya, Mitsunori; Iwasaki, Kazuhide; Shimizu, Makiko; Utoh, Masahiro; Yamazaki, Hiroshi

2012-12-15

Cynomolgus monkeys are widely used as primate models in preclinical studies. However, some differences are occasionally seen between monkeys and humans in the activities of cytochrome P450 enzymes. R- and S-warfarin are model substrates for stereoselective oxidation in humans. In this current research, the activities of monkey liver microsomes and 14 recombinantly expressed monkey cytochrome P450 enzymes were analyzed with respect to R- and S-warfarin 6- and 7-hydroxylation. Monkey liver microsomes efficiently mediated both R- and S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation, in contrast to human liver microsomes, which preferentially catalyzed S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation. R-Warfarin 7-hydroxylation activities in monkey liver microsomes were not inhibited by α-naphthoflavone or ketoconazole, and were roughly correlated with P450 2C19 levels and flurbiprofen 4-hydroxylation activities in microsomes from 20 monkey livers. In contrast, S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation activities were not correlated with the four marker drug oxidation activities used. Among the 14 recombinantly expressed monkey P450 enzymes tested, P450 2C19 had the highest activities for R- and S-warfarin 7-hydroxylations. Monkey P450 3A4 and 3A5 slowly mediated R- and S-warfarin 6-hydroxylations. Kinetic analysis revealed that monkey P450 2C19 had high V(max) and low K(m) values for R-warfarin 7-hydroxylation, comparable to those for monkey liver microsomes. Monkey P450 2C19 also mediated S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation with V(max) and V(max)/K(m) values comparable to those for recombinant human P450 2C9. R-warfarin could dock favorably into monkey P450 2C19 modeled. These results collectively suggest high activities for monkey liver P450 2C19 toward R- and S-warfarin 6- and 7-hydroxylation in contrast to the saturation kinetics of human P450 2C9-mediated S-warfarin 7-hydroxylation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A primate specific extra domain in the molecular chaperone Hsp90.

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Vishwadeepak Tripathi

Full Text Available Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90 is an essential molecular chaperone that mediates folding and quality control of client proteins. Many of them such as protein kinases, steroid receptors and transcription factors are involved in cellular signaling processes. Hsp90 undergoes an ATP hydrolysis dependent conformational cycle to assist folding of the client protein. The canonical Hsp90 shows a typical composition of three distinct domains and interacts with individual cochaperone partners such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 (activator of Hsp90 ATPase that regulate the reaction cycle of the molecular chaperone. A bioinformatic survey identified an additional domain of 122 amino acids in front of the canonical Hsp90 sequence. This extra domain (E domain is specific to the Catarrhini or drooping nose monkeys, a subdivision of the higher primates that includes man, the great apes and the old world monkeys but is absent from all other species. Our biochemical analysis reveals that Hsp103 associates with cochaperone proteins such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 similar to Hsp90. However, the extra domain reduces the ATP hydrolysis rate to about half when compared to Hsp90 thereby acting as a negative regulator of the molecular chaperonés intrinsic ATPase activity.

"Zeroing" in on mathematics in the monkey brain.

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Beran, Michael J

2016-03-01

A new study documented that monkeys showed selective neuronal responding to the concept of zero during a numerical task, and that there were two distinct classes of neurons that coded the absence of stimuli either through a discrete activation pattern (zero or not zero) or a continuous one for which zero was integrated with other numerosities in the relative rate of activity. These data indicate that monkeys, like humans, have a concept of zero that is part of their analog number line but that also may have unique properties compared to other numerosities.

De novo origin of VCY2 from autosome to Y-transposed amplicon.

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Peng-Rong Cao

Full Text Available The formation of new genes is a primary driving force of evolution in all organisms. The de novo evolution of new genes from non-protein-coding genomic regions is emerging as an important additional mechanism for novel gene creation. Y chromosomes underlie sex determination in mammals and contain genes that are required for male-specific functions. In this study, a search was undertaken for Y chromosome de novo genes derived from non-protein-coding sequences. The Y chromosome orphan gene variable charge, Y-linked (VCY2, is an autosome-derived gene that has sequence similarity to large autosomal fragments but lacks an autosomal protein-coding homolog. VCY2 locates in the amplicon containing long DNA fragments that were transposed from autosomes to the Y chromosome before the ape-monkey split. We confirmed that VCY2 cannot be encoded by autosomes due to the presence of multiple disablers that disrupt the open reading frame, such as the absence of start or stop codons and the presence of premature stop codons. Similar observations have been made for homologs in the autosomes of the chimpanzee, gorilla, rhesus macaque, baboon and out-group marmoset, which suggests that there was a non-protein-coding ancestral VCY2 that was common to apes and monkeys that predated the transposition event. Furthermore, while protein-coding orthologs are absent, a putative non-protein-coding VCY2 with conserved disablers was identified in the rhesus macaque Y chromosome male-specific region. This finding implies that VCY2 might have not acquired its protein-coding ability before the ape-monkey split. VCY2 encodes a testis-specific expressed protein and is involved in the pathologic process of male infertility, and the acquisition of this gene might improve male fertility. This is the first evidence that de novo genes can be generated from transposed autosomal non-protein-coding segments, and this evidence provides novel insights into the evolutionary history of the Y

Comparison of oxime reactivation and aging of nerve agent-inhibited monkey and human acetylcholinesterases.

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Luo, Chunyuan; Tong, Min; Maxwell, Donald M; Saxena, Ashima

2008-09-25

Non-human primates are valuable animal models that are used for the evaluation of nerve agent toxicity as well as antidotes and results from animal experiments are extrapolated to humans. It has been demonstrated that the efficacy of an oxime primarily depends on its ability to reactivate nerve agent-inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE). If the in vitro oxime reactivation of nerve agent-inhibited animal AChE is similar to that of human AChE, it is likely that the results of an in vivo animal study will reliably extrapolate to humans. Therefore, the goal of this study was to compare the aging and reactivation of human and different monkey (Rhesus, Cynomolgus, and African Green) AChEs inhibited by GF, GD, and VR. The oximes examined include the traditional oxime 2-PAM, two H-oximes HI-6 and HLo-7, and the new candidate oxime MMB4. Results indicate that oxime reactivation of all three monkey AChEs was very similar to human AChE. The maximum difference in the second-order reactivation rate constant between human and three monkey AChEs or between AChEs from different monkey species was 5-fold. Aging rate constants of GF-, GD-, and VR-inhibited monkey AChEs were very similar to human AChE except for GF-inhibited monkey AChEs, which aged 2-3 times faster than the human enzyme. The results of this study suggest that all three monkey species are suitable animal models for nerve agent antidote evaluation since monkey AChEs possess similar biochemical/pharmacological properties to human AChE.

Formal monkey linguistics : The debate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schlenker, Philippe; Chemla, Emmanuel; Schel, Anne M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/413333450; Fuller, James; Gautier, Jean Pierre; Kuhn, Jeremy; Veselinović, Dunja; Arnold, Kate; Cäsar, Cristiane; Keenan, Sumir; Lemasson, Alban; Ouattara, Karim; Ryder, Robin; Zuberbühler, Klaus

2016-01-01

We explain why general techniques from formal linguistics can and should be applied to the analysis of monkey communication - in the areas of syntax and especially semantics. An informed look at our recent proposals shows that such techniques needn't rely excessively on categories of human language:

Striatal dopamine D2/3 receptor regulation by stress inoculation in squirrel monkeys

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Alex G. Lee

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Intermittent mildly stressful situations provide opportunities to learn, practice, and improve coping in a process called stress inoculation. Stress inoculation also enhances cognitive control and response inhibition of impulsive motivated behavior. Cognitive control and motivation have been linked to striatal dopamine D2 and/or D3 receptors (DRD2/3 in rodents, monkeys, and humans. Here, we study squirrel monkeys randomized early in life to stress inoculation with or without maternal companionship and a no-stress control treatment condition. Striatal DRD2/3 availability in adulthood was measured in vivo by [11C]raclopride binding using positron emission tomography (PET. DRD2/3 availability was greater in caudate and putamen compared to ventral striatum as reported in PET studies of humans and other non-human primates. DRD2/3 availability in ventral striatum was also consistently greater in stress inoculated squirrel monkeys compared to no-stress controls. Squirrel monkeys exposed to stress inoculation in the presence of their mother did not differ from squirrel monkeys exposed to stress inoculation without maternal companionship. Similar effects in different social contexts extend the generality of our findings and together suggest that stress inoculation increases striatal DRD2/3 availability as a correlate of cognitive control in squirrel monkeys.

Plasmodium simium/Plasmodium vivax infections in southern brown howler monkeys from the Atlantic Forest

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Daniela Camargos Costa

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Blood infection by the simian parasite, Plasmodium simium, was identified in captive (n = 45, 4.4% and in wild Alouatta clamitans monkeys (n = 20, 35% from the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. A single malaria infection was symptomatic and the monkey presented clinical and haematological alterations. A high frequency of Plasmodium vivax-specific antibodies was detected among these monkeys, with 87% of the monkeys testing positive against P. vivax antigens. These findings highlight the possibility of malaria as a zoonosis in the remaining Atlantic Forest and its impact on the epidemiology of the disease.

Effects of ionizing radiation on male germ cells of crab-eating monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, Masanori; Kitazuma, Masayuki; Tobari, Izuo

1989-01-01

Effects of ionizing radiation on sperm concentration, testicular volume, and sperm shape of the crab-eating monkey were studied by using acute and low dose-rate gamma-ray and X-ray. The animals were acutely irradiated with 0.25-3.00 Gy with Cs-137 gamma-ray at a dose-rate of 0.25 Gy/min. Sperm concentrations were decreased with time after irradiation in a dose-dependent fashion. The time required for the lowest concentration of sperm depended on radiation doses. A linear dose-response relationship was seen for sperm concentrations. In comparing the present results in monkeys to previous results in mice and golden hamsters, the sensitivity of spermatogenic cells in killing effect of gamma ray varied in the following order: monkeys>hamsters>mice. The present monkeys were also subjected to whole-body irradiation with 0.3-1.5 Gy of Cs-137 gamma-ray at 1.8 x 10 -5 Gy/min, for the purpose of estimating low-dose rate irradiation on sperm concentrations, testicular volume and sperm shape. Noticeable changes in either sperm concentration or testicular volume did not occur by irradiation of 0.3 Gy. Sperm concentrations were markedly changed with 1.0 Gy. Changes in sperm concentrations and testicular volume after X-ray irradiation at the dose-rate of 0.32 Gy/min showed that killing effects of X-ray are apparently higher than those of gamma-ray. When the incidence of abnormal head shapes of sperm was examined in monkeys with chronic gamma-ray irradiation, the highest incidence of abnormality was 1.5-1.8% at 0.25-0.50 Gy. The incidence of sperm abnormality in monkeys was comparable to that in hamsters; however, it was markedly higher in mice than monkeys. (Namekawa, K)

Can human eyes prevent perceptual narrowing for monkey faces in human infants?

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Damon, Fabrice; Bayet, Laurie; Quinn, Paul C; Hillairet de Boisferon, Anne; Méary, David; Dupierrix, Eve; Lee, Kang; Pascalis, Olivier

2015-07-01

Perceptual narrowing has been observed in human infants for monkey faces: 6-month-olds can discriminate between them, whereas older infants from 9 months of age display difficulty discriminating between them. The difficulty infants from 9 months have processing monkey faces has not been clearly identified. It could be due to the structural characteristics of monkey faces, particularly the key facial features that differ from human faces. The current study aimed to investigate whether the information conveyed by the eyes is of importance. We examined whether the presence of Caucasian human eyes in monkey faces allows recognition to be maintained in 6-month-olds and facilitates recognition in 9- and 12-month-olds. Our results revealed that the presence of human eyes in monkey faces maintains recognition for those faces at 6 months of age and partially facilitates recognition of those faces at 9 months of age, but not at 12 months of age. The findings are interpreted in the context of perceptual narrowing and suggest that the attenuation of processing of other-species faces is not reversed by the presence of human eyes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Selection and Pairing of ’Normal’ Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) for Research.

Science.gov (United States)

1978-11-08

week intervals. Fecal bacteriological cultures did not detect any Salmonella or Shigella car- riers in the population. The male monkeys ranged in age...1Special Roert 78-6 LVEL•$ SELECTION AND PAIRING OF "NORMAL" RHESUS MONKEYS (Macaca mulatto) FOR RESEARC Matthew J. Kessler, James L. Kupper, James D...public release; distribution unlimited. SELECTION AND PAIRING OF "NORMAL" RHESUS MONKEYS (Macaca mulatta) FOR RESEARCH Matthew J. Kessler, James L

Metabolic changes in the visual cortex of binocular blindness macaque monkeys: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

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Lingjie Wu

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1H-MRS in a study of cross-modal plasticity in the visual cortex of binocular blindness macaque monkeys. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four healthy neonatal macaque monkeys were randomly divided into 2 groups, with 2 in each group. Optic nerve transection was performed in both monkeys in the experimental group (group B to obtain binocular blindness. Two healthy macaque monkeys served as a control group (group A. After sixteen months post-procedure, (1H-MRS was performed in the visual cortex of all monkeys. We compared the peak areas of NAA, Cr, Cho, Glx and Ins and the ratios of NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, Glx/Cr and Ins/Cr of each monkey in group B with group A. RESULTS: The peak area of NAA and the NAA/Cr ratio in the visual cortex of monkey 4 in group B were found to be dramatically decreased, the peak area of NAA slightly decreased and the NAA/Cr ratio clearly decreased in visual cortex of monkey 3 in group B than those in group A. The peak area of Ins and the Ins/Cr ratio in the visual cortex of monkey 4 in group B slightly increased. The peak area of Cho and the Cho/Cr ratio in the visual cortex of all monkeys in group B dramatically increased compared with group A. The peak area of Glx in the visual cortex of all monkeys in group B slightly increased compared with group A. CONCLUSIONS: (1H-MRS could detect biochemical and metabolic changes in the visual cortex and therefore this technique can be used to provide valuable information for investigating the mechanisms of cross-modal plasticity of binocular blindness in a macaque monkey model.

Aping expressions? Chimpanzees produce distinct laugh types when responding to laughter of others.

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Davila-Ross, Marina; Allcock, Bethan; Thomas, Chris; Bard, Kim A

2011-10-01

Humans have the ability to replicate the emotional expressions of others even when they undergo different emotions. Such distinct responses of expressions, especially positive expressions, play a central role in everyday social communication of humans and may give the responding individuals important advantages in cooperation and communication. The present work examined laughter in chimpanzees to test whether nonhuman primates also use their expressions in such distinct ways. The approach was first to examine the form and occurrence of laugh replications (laughter after the laughter of others) and spontaneous laughter of chimpanzees during social play and then to test whether their laugh replications represented laugh-elicited laugh responses (laughter triggered by the laughter of others) by using a quantitative method designed to measure responses in natural social settings. The results of this study indicated that chimpanzees produce laugh-elicited laughter that is distinct in form and occurrence from their spontaneous laughter. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that nonhuman primates have the ability to replicate the expressions of others by producing expressions that differ in their underlying emotions and social implications. The data further showed that the laugh-elicited laugh responses of the subjects were closely linked to play maintenance, suggesting that chimpanzees might gain important cooperative and communicative advantages by responding with laughter to the laughter of their social partners. Notably, some chimpanzee groups of this study responded more with laughter than others, an outcome that provides empirical support of a socialization of expressions in great apes similar to that of humans.

Can monkeys make investments based on maximized pay-off?

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Sophie Steelandt

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Animals can maximize benefits but it is not known if they adjust their investment according to expected pay-offs. We investigated whether monkeys can use different investment strategies in an exchange task. We tested eight capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella and thirteen macaques (Macaca fascicularis, Macaca tonkeana in an experiment where they could adapt their investment to the food amounts proposed by two different experimenters. One, the doubling partner, returned a reward that was twice the amount given by the subject, whereas the other, the fixed partner, always returned a constant amount regardless of the amount given. To maximize pay-offs, subjects should invest a maximal amount with the first partner and a minimal amount with the second. When tested with the fixed partner only, one third of monkeys learned to remove a maximal amount of food for immediate consumption before investing a minimal one. With both partners, most subjects failed to maximize pay-offs by using different decision rules with each partner' quality. A single Tonkean macaque succeeded in investing a maximal amount to one experimenter and a minimal amount to the other. The fact that only one of over 21 subjects learned to maximize benefits in adapting investment according to experimenters' quality indicates that such a task is difficult for monkeys, albeit not impossible.

Streptococcus oralis cerebral abscess following monkey bite in a 2-month-old infant.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiagarajan, Srinivasan; Krishnamurthy, Sriram; Raghavan, Renitha; Mahadevan, Subramanian; Madhugiri, Venkatesh S; Sistla, Sujatha

2016-05-01

Although cerebral abscesses caused by animal bites have been reported, they are extremely rare in infants and have not been described following monkey bite. A 55-day-old male infant presented with a multi-loculated Streptococcus oralis cerebral abscess following a monkey bite on the scalp. There was a clinical response to antibiotic therapy and repeated surgical aspiration followed by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. This is the first report of a patient with a brain abscess following a monkey bite.

Synthesis and characterization of hybrid organic-inorganic materials of polyamide-imide (PAI) and copolysilsesquioxanes of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APES) and phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demarchi, A.A.; Pezzin, S.H.

2010-01-01

In this work, organic-inorganic hybrids were obtained by adding copolysilsesquioxanes of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APES) and phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES), prepared by sol-gel, to the polyamide-imide (PAI). The synthesis of PAI oligomer from trimellitic anhydride (TMA) and 4,4-diphenyl-methane diisocyanate (MDI), was monitored by FTIR, noting that two steps of 80 deg C and 120 deg C for 2 h each are sufficient to obtain it. PAI-copolysilsesquioxanes hybrids were characterized by FTIR, viscometry, thermogravimetry, NMR and microscopy. The spectrum of the PAI and PAI-hybrid copolysilsesquioxanes show the formation of amide and imide. Copolysilsesquioxanes with high levels of APES increased the viscosity and generated the PAI oligomer gelatinization, hindering the formation of uniform films. Gelatinization did not occur with copolysilsesquioxanes rich PTES, allowing the formation of homogeneous films improvements in thermal resistance. (author)

jMonkeyEngine 3.0 cookbook

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Edén, Rickard

2014-01-01

If you are a jMonkey developer or a Java developer who is interested to delve further into the game making process to expand your skillset and create more technical games, then this book is perfect for you.

Reproductive function of monkeys subjected to chronic irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artem'eva, N.S.; Kosichenko, L.P.; Andreeva, A.V.; Zvereva, G.A.

1976-01-01

Marked functional disorders have been detected in reproductive glands of eight female monkeys (as compared to twelve control animals) subjected to protracted (up to eight years) irradiation (cumulative doses 826-3282 R). Irradiated monkeys exhibited a drastically decreased reproductive capacity, early menopause and sterility. Irradiation of preadolescent animals inhibited, in most cases, the puberty processes and disturbed sex cycles. Structural disorders in sex glands, inhibition of the processes of maturation and ovulation of folloculi, death of the mass of germ cells, atypical vegetations of the integmentary epithelium, sclerosing and cystic degeneration of the glandular tissue have been revealed

Monkey liver cytochrome P450 2C9 is involved in caffeine 7-N-demethylation to form theophylline.

Science.gov (United States)

Utoh, Masahiro; Murayama, Norie; Uno, Yasuhiro; Onose, Yui; Hosaka, Shinya; Fujino, Hideki; Shimizu, Makiko; Iwasaki, Kazuhide; Yamazaki, Hiroshi

2013-12-01

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is a phenotyping substrate for human cytochrome P450 1A2. 3-N-Demethylation of caffeine is the main human metabolic pathway, whereas monkeys extensively mediate the 7-N-demethylation of caffeine to form pharmacological active theophylline. Roles of monkey P450 enzymes in theophylline formation from caffeine were investigated using individual monkey liver microsomes and 14 recombinantly expressed monkey P450 enzymes, and the results were compared with those for human P450 enzymes. Caffeine 7-N-demethylation activity in microsomes from 20 monkey livers was not strongly inhibited by α-naphthoflavone, quinidine or ketoconazole, and was roughly correlated with diclofenac 4'-hydroxylation activities. Monkey P450 2C9 had the highest activity for caffeine 7-N-demethylation. Kinetic analysis revealed that monkey P450 2C9 had a high Vmax/Km value for caffeine 7-N-demethylation, comparable to low Km value for monkey liver microsomes. Caffeine could dock favorably with monkey P450 2C9 modeled for 7-N-demethylation and with human P450 1A2 for 3-N-demethylation. The primary metabolite theophylline was oxidized to 8-hydroxytheophylline in similar ways by liver microsomes and by recombinant P450s in both humans and monkeys. These results collectively suggest a high activity for monkey liver P450 2C9 toward caffeine 7-N-demethylation, whereas, in humans, P450 1A2-mediated caffeine 3-N-demethylation is dominant.

Hemorrhoids: an experimental model in monkeys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Plapler Hélio

2006-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Hemorrhoids are a matter of concern due to a painful outcome. We describe a simple, easy and reliable experimental model to produce hemorrhoids in monkeys. METHODS: 14 monkeys (Cebus apella were used. After general anesthesia, hemorrhoids were induced by ligation of the inferior hemorrhoidal vein, which is very alike to humans. The vein was located through a perianal incision, dissected and ligated with a 3-0 vicryl. The skin was sutured with a 4-0 catgut thread. Animals were kept in appropriate cages and evaluated daily. RESULTS: Nine days later there were hemorrhoidal piles in the anus in fifty percent (50% of the animals. Outcome was unremarkable. There was no bleeding and all animals showed no signs of pain or suffering. CONCLUSION: This is an affordable and reliable experimental model to induce hemorrhoids for experimental studies.

Rod photoreceptors express GPR55 in the adult vervet monkey retina

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouskila, Joseph; Javadi, Pasha; Casanova, Christian

2013-01-01

. Yet, its formal classification is still a matter of debate. CB1R and CB2R expression patterns are well described for rodent and monkey retinas. In the monkey retina, CB1R has been localized in its neural (cone photoreceptor, horizontal, bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells) and CB2R in glial...

Species-specific calls evoke asymmetric activity in the monkey's temporal poles.

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Poremba, Amy; Malloy, Megan; Saunders, Richard C; Carson, Richard E; Herscovitch, Peter; Mishkin, Mortimer

2004-01-29

It has often been proposed that the vocal calls of monkeys are precursors of human speech, in part because they provide critical information to other members of the species who rely on them for survival and social interactions. Both behavioural and lesion studies suggest that monkeys, like humans, use the auditory system of the left hemisphere preferentially to process vocalizations. To investigate the pattern of neural activity that might underlie this particular form of functional asymmetry in monkeys, we measured local cerebral metabolic activity while the animals listened passively to species-specific calls compared with a variety of other classes of sound. Within the superior temporal gyrus, significantly greater metabolic activity occurred on the left side than on the right, only in the region of the temporal pole and only in response to monkey calls. This functional asymmetry was absent when these regions were separated by forebrain commissurotomy, suggesting that the perception of vocalizations elicits concurrent interhemispheric interactions that focus the auditory processing within a specialized area of one hemisphere.

A new world monkey microsatellite (ap74) highly conserved in primates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oklander, Luciana Ines; Steinberg, Eliana Ruth; Dolores Mudry, Marta

2012-01-01

Given their great variability, microsatellites or STRS became the most commonly used genetic markers over the last 15 years. The analysis of these markers requires minimum quantities of DNA, allowing the use of noninvasive samples, such as feces or hair. We amplified the microsatellite ap74 in blood and hair samples in order to analyze the levels of genomic conservation among a wide range of primates including: lemur catta, alouatta caraya, ateles belzebuth, ateles chamek, pan troglodytes, papio sp., and Homo sapiens. in all cases we obtained amplification products that exhibited similar size both in monkeys and human (oscillating between 126 and 176 bp), except in the lemur where the detected fragment presented a size of approximately 1000 bp. the analysis of the nucleotide sequences permitted the evaluation of the molecular modifications experienced during the evolutionary process in primates.

Radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes from man and crab-eating monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, E.; Hirai, M.; Tobari, I.; Utsugi, T.; Nakai, S.

1982-01-01

To obtain information on the relation between yield of chromosome aberrations and dose at low-dose levels, experiments were conducted with 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 rad of 137 Cs γ-rays, on lymphocytes from man and crab-eating monkey (Macaca fascicularis). The dose-response relationship for dicentrics was obtained from the combined data of these low-dose experiments with those of our previous ones at high doses (100-400 rad). When the difference between observed yields and those expected from the linear-quadratic model were computed, the dose-response curve had a good fit for man, but not for the monkey. The linear regression lines between 0 and 30 rad were calculated, because the expected values of α/β for man and monkey would be about 100 and 60 rad. The human data gave a satisfactory fit to a linear model, i.e., a linear increase in aberration frequency with dose, whereas this was not so for those of the monkey. Furthermore, there was some suggestive evidence for the existence of a plateau in dicentric yields between 10 and 30 rad for the monkey and between 20 and 30 rad for human lymphocytes, but more data would be needed to verify this suggestion, particularly for human lymphocytes. (orig.)

The Moral Lives of Laboratory Monkeys: Television and the Ethics of Care.

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Sharp, Lesley A

2017-06-01

Why do lab monkeys watch TV? This essay examines the preponderance of televisions in primate housing units based in academic research laboratories. Within such labs, television and related visual media are glossed as part-and-parcel of welfare or species-specific enrichment practices intended for research monkeys, a logic that is simultaneously historically- and ontologically-based. In many research centers, television figures prominently in the two inseparable domains of a lab monkey's life: as a research tool employed during experiments, and in housing units where captive monkeys are said to enjoy watching TV during "down time." My purpose is not to determine whether monkeys do indeed enjoy, or need, television; rather, I employ visual media as a means to uncover, and decipher, the moral logic of an ethics of care directed specifically at highly sentient creatures who serve as human proxies in a range of experimental contexts. I suggest that this specialized ethics of animal care materializes Mattingly's notion of "moral laboratories" (Mattingly in Moral laboratories: family peril and the struggle for a good life, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2014), where television mediates the troublesome boundary of species difference among the simian and human subjects who cohabit laboratory worlds.

The nasal and paranasal architecture of the Middle Miocene ape Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (primates: Hominidae): phylogenetic implications.

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Pérez de Los Ríos, Miriam; Moyà-Solà, Salvador; Alba, David M

2012-09-01

The internal (nasal and paranasal) cranial anatomy of the Middle Miocene (11.9 Ma [millions of years ago]) great ape Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (Hominidae: Dryopithecini) is described on the basis of computed-tomography scans of the holotype specimen (IPS21350), with particular emphasis on its phylogenetic implications. Pierolapithecus displays the following characters: an anteriorly-restricted maxillary sinus that posteriorly spreads towards the ethmoidal area (thus resembling the pongine condition), although being situated well above the molar roots (as in kenyapithecins, other dryopithecins and pongines); lack of frontal sinus (a synapomorphy of derived pongines, independently acquired by both cercopithecoids and hylobatids); posteriorly-situated turbinals (as in Pongo); anteriorly-projecting nasolacrimal canal (as in Pongo); and probably stepped nasal floor with non-overlapping premaxillary-maxillary contact (as in dryopithecines and stem hominoids, although it cannot be conclusively shown due to bone damage). Overall, Pierolapithecus displays a mosaic of primitive hominid and derived pongine features that are inconsistent with this taxon being a hominine (as previously suggested). Two alternative phylogenetic interpretations are possible: Pierolapithecus may be a stem member of the Hominidae as previously suggested in its original description, or alternatively this taxon may be a stem member of the Ponginae s.l. (with the European dryopithecines being the sister taxon to the Asian pongines). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcriptome analyses of rhesus monkey preimplantation embryos reveal a reduced capacity for DNA double-strand break repair in primate oocytes and early embryos

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Wang, Xinyi; Liu, Denghui; He, Dajian; Suo, Shengbao; Xia, Xian; He, Xiechao; Han, Jing-Dong J.; Zheng, Ping

2017-01-01

Preimplantation embryogenesis encompasses several critical events including genome reprogramming, zygotic genome activation (ZGA), and cell-fate commitment. The molecular basis of these processes remains obscure in primates in which there is a high rate of embryo wastage. Thus, understanding the factors involved in genome reprogramming and ZGA might help reproductive success during this susceptible period of early development and generate induced pluripotent stem cells with greater efficiency. Moreover, explaining the molecular basis responsible for embryo wastage in primates will greatly expand our knowledge of species evolution. By using RNA-seq in single and pooled oocytes and embryos, we defined the transcriptome throughout preimplantation development in rhesus monkey. In comparison to archival human and mouse data, we found that the transcriptome dynamics of monkey oocytes and embryos were very similar to those of human but very different from those of mouse. We identified several classes of maternal and zygotic genes, whose expression peaks were highly correlated with the time frames of genome reprogramming, ZGA, and cell-fate commitment, respectively. Importantly, comparison of the ZGA-related network modules among the three species revealed less robust surveillance of genomic instability in primate oocytes and embryos than in rodents, particularly in the pathways of DNA damage signaling and homology-directed DNA double-strand break repair. This study highlights the utility of monkey models to better understand the molecular basis for genome reprogramming, ZGA, and genomic stability surveillance in human early embryogenesis and may provide insights for improved homologous recombination-mediated gene editing in monkey. PMID:28223401

The Monkey game: A computerized verbal working memory task for self-reliant administration in primary school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Van de Weijer-Bergsma, Eva; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; Jolani, Shahab; Van Luit, Johannes E H

2016-06-01

In two studies, the psychometric properties of an online self-reliant verbal working memory task (the Monkey game) for primary school children (6-12 years of age) were examined. In Study 1, children (n = 5,203) from 31 primary schools participated. The participants completed computerized verbal and visual-spatial working memory tasks (i.e., the Monkey game and the Lion game) and a paper-and-pencil version of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Reading comprehension and math achievement test scores were obtained from the schools. First, the internal consistency of the Monkey game was examined. Second, multilevel modeling was used to examine the effects of classroom membership. Multilevel multivariate regression analysis was used to examine the Monkey game's concurrent relationship with the Lion game and its predictive relationships with reading comprehension and math achievement. Also, age-related differences in performance were examined. In Study 2, the concurrent relationships between the Monkey game and two tester-led computerized working memory tasks were further examined (n = 140). Also, the 1- and 2-year stability of the Monkey game was investigated. The Monkey game showed excellent internal consistency, good concurrent relationships with the other working memory measures, and significant age differences in performance. Performance on the Monkey game was also predictive of subsequent reading comprehension and mathematics performance, even after controlling for individual differences in intelligence. Performance on the Monkey game was influenced by classroom membership. The Monkey game is a reliable and suitable instrument for the online computerized and self-reliant assessment of verbal working memory in primary school children.

The importance of surface-based cues for face discrimination in non-human primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Parr, Lisa A; Taubert, Jessica

2011-07-07

Understanding how individual identity is processed from faces remains a complex problem. Contrast reversal, showing faces in photographic negative, impairs face recognition in humans and demonstrates the importance of surface-based information (shading and pigmentation) in face recognition. We tested the importance of contrast information for face encoding in chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys using a computerized face-matching task. Results showed that contrast reversal (positive to negative) selectively impaired face processing in these two species, although the impairment was greater for chimpanzees. Unlike chimpanzees, however, monkeys performed just as well matching negative to positive faces, suggesting that they retained some ability to extract identity information from negative faces. A control task showed that chimpanzees, but not rhesus monkeys, performed significantly better matching face parts compared with whole faces after a contrast reversal, suggesting that contrast reversal acts selectively on face processing, rather than general visual-processing mechanisms. These results confirm the importance of surface-based cues for face processing in chimpanzees and humans, while the results were less salient for rhesus monkeys. These findings make a significant contribution to understanding the evolution of cognitive specializations for face processing among primates, and suggest potential differences between monkeys and apes.

Differences in behaviour and physiology between adult surrogate-reared and mother-reared Cynomolgous monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luijk, I.A.F. van; Timmermans, P.J.A.; Sweep, C.G.J.; Willems, J.; Vossen, J.M.H.

2000-01-01

Previous studies of the effects of rearing conditions on exploratory behaviour revealed that 80% of monkeys reared in peer groups with surrogate mothers developed neophobia, whereas only 15 % of mother-reared monkeys did. Young surrogate-reared and, especially, isolated rhesus monkeys are known to

Comparative analysis of field-isolate and monkey-adapted Plasmodium vivax genomes.

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Chan, Ernest R; Barnwell, John W; Zimmerman, Peter A; Serre, David

2015-03-01

Significant insights into the biology of Plasmodium vivax have been gained from the ability to successfully adapt human infections to non-human primates. P. vivax strains grown in monkeys serve as a renewable source of parasites for in vitro and ex vivo experimental studies and functional assays, or for studying in vivo the relapse characteristics, mosquito species compatibilities, drug susceptibility profiles or immune responses towards potential vaccine candidates. Despite the importance of these studies, little is known as to how adaptation to a different host species may influence the genome of P. vivax. In addition, it is unclear whether these monkey-adapted strains consist of a single clonal population of parasites or if they retain the multiclonal complexity commonly observed in field isolates. Here we compare the genome sequences of seven P. vivax strains adapted to New World monkeys with those of six human clinical isolates collected directly in the field. We show that the adaptation of P. vivax parasites to monkey hosts, and their subsequent propagation, did not result in significant modifications of their genome sequence and that these monkey-adapted strains recapitulate the genomic diversity of field isolates. Our analyses also reveal that these strains are not always genetically homogeneous and should be analyzed cautiously. Overall, our study provides a framework to better leverage this important research material and fully utilize this resource for improving our understanding of P. vivax biology.

Fulltext PDF

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

PRAKASH

In demonizing all biomedical research on apes, regardless of the nature of the ... development of the human societies nearby, and consequent growth of human ... Cavalieri P 2006 Ethics, animals and the nonhuman great apes; J Biosci.

Same/different concept learning by capuchin monkeys in matching-to-sample tasks.

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Valentina Truppa

Full Text Available The ability to understand similarities and analogies is a fundamental aspect of human advanced cognition. Although subject of considerable research in comparative cognition, the extent to which nonhuman species are capable of analogical reasoning is still debated. This study examined the conditions under which tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella acquire a same/different concept in a matching-to-sample task on the basis of relational similarity among multi-item stimuli. We evaluated (i the ability of five capuchin monkeys to learn the same/different concept on the basis of the number of items composing the stimuli and (ii the ability to match novel stimuli after training with both several small stimulus sets and a large stimulus set. We found the first evidence of same/different relational matching-to-sample abilities in a New World monkey and demonstrated that the ability to match novel stimuli is within the capacity of this species. Therefore, analogical reasoning can emerge in monkeys under specific training conditions.

Same/Different Concept Learning by Capuchin Monkeys in Matching-to-Sample Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Truppa, Valentina; Piano Mortari, Eva; Garofoli, Duilio; Privitera, Sara; Visalberghi, Elisabetta

2011-01-01

The ability to understand similarities and analogies is a fundamental aspect of human advanced cognition. Although subject of considerable research in comparative cognition, the extent to which nonhuman species are capable of analogical reasoning is still debated. This study examined the conditions under which tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) acquire a same/different concept in a matching-to-sample task on the basis of relational similarity among multi-item stimuli. We evaluated (i) the ability of five capuchin monkeys to learn the same/different concept on the basis of the number of items composing the stimuli and (ii) the ability to match novel stimuli after training with both several small stimulus sets and a large stimulus set. We found the first evidence of same/different relational matching-to-sample abilities in a New World monkey and demonstrated that the ability to match novel stimuli is within the capacity of this species. Therefore, analogical reasoning can emerge in monkeys under specific training conditions. PMID:21858225

Effects of anesthesia upon 18F-FDG uptake in rhesus monkey brains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Takashi; Wakahara, Shunichi; Nakano, Takayuki; Suzuki, Kazutoshi; Kobayashi, Kaoru; Inoue, Osamu

2005-01-01

The kinetics of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) in the monkey brain were monitored, and comparisons were made between the conscious state and when under ketamine and pentobarbital anesthesia. Rhesus monkeys were intravenously injected with 18 F-FDG and followed by 60 min of PET scanning. In the conscious state, the 18 F-FDG concentration reached a plateau 5 min after intravenous injection. Under ketamine anesthesia, the 18 F-FDG concentration gradually increased with time in all monitored regions. At 60 min after injection, the concentration in the striatum was about 3.2 times greater than that in the conscious state, and about 4.5 times greater in the cerebral cortex. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, the 18 F-FDG concentration in the occipital cortex was slightly lower. These findings demonstrate that 18 F-FDG concentration in the monkey brain is significantly affected by anesthesia. The results also imply the existence of a short-term regulation mechanism for hexokinase activity in intact monkey brain. (author)

Autonomous replication of plasmids bearing monkey DNA origin-enriched sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frappier, L.; Zannis-Hadjopoulos, M.

1987-01-01

Twelve clones of origin-enriched sequences (ORS) isolated from early replicating monkey (CV-1) DNA were examined for transient episomal replication in transfected CV-1, COS-7, and HeLa cells. Plasmid DNA was isolated at time intervals after transfection and screened by the Dpn I resistance assay or by the bromodeoxyuridine substitution assay to differentiate between input and replicated DNA. The authors have identified four monkey ORS (ORS3, -8, -9, and -12) that can support plasmid replication in mammalian cells. This replication is carried out in a controlled and semiconservative manner characteristic of mammalian replicons. ORS replication was most efficient in HeLa cells. Electron microscopy showed ORS8 and ORS12 plasmids of the correct size with replication bubbles. Using a unique restriction site in ORS12, we have mapped the replication bubble within the monkey DNA sequence

Third-party social evaluations of humans by monkeys and dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, James R; Bucher, Benoit; Chijiiwa, Hitomi; Kuroshima, Hika; Takimoto, Ayaka; Fujita, Kazuo

2017-11-01

Developmental psychologists are increasingly interested in young children's evaluations of individuals based on third-party interactions. Studies have shown that infants react negatively to agents who display harmful intentions toward others, and to those who behave unfairly. We describe experimental studies of capuchin monkeys' and pet dogs' differential reactions to people who are helpful or unhelpful in third-party contexts, and monkeys' responses to people who behave unfairly in exchanges of objects with a third party. We also present evidence that capuchin monkeys monitor the context of failures to help and violations of reciprocity, and that intentionality is one factor underlying their social evaluations of individuals whom they see interacting with others. We conclude by proposing some questions for studies of nonhuman species' third party-based social evaluations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Standardized Full-Field Electroretinography in the Green Monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouskila, Joseph; Javadi, Pasha; Palmour, Roberta M

2014-01-01

Full-field electroretinography is an objective measure of retinal function, serving as an important diagnostic clinical tool in ophthalmology for evaluating the integrity of the retina. Given the similarity between the anatomy and physiology of the human and Green Monkey eyes, this species has......). Photopic and scotopic ERG recordings were obtained by full-field stimulation over a range of 6 log units of intensity in dark-adapted or light-adapted eyes of adult Green Monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus). Intensity, duration, and interval of light stimuli were varied separately. Reproducible values...... of amplitude and latency were obtained for the a- and b-waves, under well-controlled adaptation and stimulus conditions; the i-wave was also easily identifiable and separated from the a-b-wave complex in the photopic ERG. The recordings obtained in the healthy Green Monkey matched very well with those...

Integrase of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Snášel, Jan; Krejčík, Zdeněk; Jenčová, Věra; Rosenberg, Ivan; Ruml, Tomáš; Alexandratos, J.; Gustchina, A.; Pichová, Iva

2005-01-01

Roč. 272, č. 1 (2005), s. 203-216 ISSN 1742-464X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA4055304 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4055905 Keywords : integrase * Mason-Pfizer monkey virus * HIV-1 Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry

Tonal frequency affects amplitude but not topography of rhesus monkey cranial EEG components.

Science.gov (United States)

Teichert, Tobias

2016-06-01

The rhesus monkey is an important model of human auditory function in general and auditory deficits in neuro-psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia in particular. Several rhesus monkey studies have described homologs of clinically relevant auditory evoked potentials such as pitch-based mismatch negativity, a fronto-central negativity that can be observed when a series of regularly repeating sounds is disrupted by a sound of different tonal frequency. As a result it is well known how differences of tonal frequency are represented in rhesus monkey EEG. However, to date there is no study that systematically quantified how absolute tonal frequency itself is represented. In particular, it is not known if frequency affects rhesus monkey EEG component amplitude and topography in the same way as previously shown for humans. A better understanding of the effect of frequency may strengthen inter-species homology and will provide a more solid foundation on which to build the interpretation of frequency MMN in the rhesus monkey. Using arrays of up to 32 cranial EEG electrodes in 4 rhesus macaques we identified 8 distinct auditory evoked components including the N85, a fronto-central negativity that is the presumed homolog of the human N1. In line with human data, the amplitudes of most components including the N85 peaked around 1000 Hz and were strongly attenuated above ∼1750 Hz. Component topography, however, remained largely unaffected by frequency. This latter finding may be consistent with the known absence of certain anatomical structures in the rhesus monkey that are believed to cause the changes in topography in the human by inducing a rotation of generator orientation as a function of tonal frequency. Overall, the findings are consistent with the assumption of a homolog representation of tonal frequency in human and rhesus monkey EEG. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diet Versus Phylogeny: a Comparison of Gut Microbiota in Captive Colobine Monkey Species.

Science.gov (United States)

Hale, Vanessa L; Tan, Chia L; Niu, Kefeng; Yang, Yeqin; Knight, Rob; Zhang, Qikun; Cui, Duoying; Amato, Katherine R

2018-02-01

Both diet and host phylogeny shape the gut microbial community, and separating out the effects of these variables can be challenging. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to evaluate the impact of diet and phylogeny on the gut microbiota of nine colobine monkey species (N = 64 individuals). Colobines are leaf-eating monkeys that fare poorly in captivity-often exhibiting gastrointestinal (GI) problems. This study included eight Asian colobines (Rhinopithecus brelichi, Rhinopithecus roxellana, Rhinopithecus bieti, Pygathrix nemaeus, Nasalis larvatus, Trachypithecus francoisi, Trachypithecus auratus, and Trachypithecus vetulus) and one African colobine (Colobus guereza). Monkeys were housed at five different captive institutes: Panxi Wildlife Rescue Center (Guizhou, China), Beijing Zoo, Beijing Zoo Breeding Center, Singapore Zoo, and Singapore Zoo Primate Conservation Breeding Center. Captive diets varied widely between institutions, but within an institution, all colobine monkey species were fed nearly identical or identical diets. In addition, four monkey species were present at multiple captive institutes. This allowed us to parse the effects of diet and phylogeny in these captive colobines. Gut microbial communities clustered weakly by host species and strongly by diet, and overall, colobine phylogenetic relationships were not reflected in gut microbiota analyses. Core microbiota analyses also identified several key taxa-including microbes within the Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae families-that were shared by over 90% of the monkeys in this study. Microbial species within these families include many butyrate producers that are important for GI health. These results highlight the importance of diet in captive colobines.

Degeneration of the olfactory guanylyl cyclase D gene during primate evolution.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet M Young

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The mammalian olfactory system consists of several subsystems that detect specific sets of chemical cues and underlie a variety of behavioral responses. Within the main olfactory epithelium at least three distinct types of chemosensory neurons can be defined by their expression of unique sets of signal transduction components. In rodents, one set of neurons expresses the olfactory-specific guanylyl cyclase (GC-D gene (Gucy2d, guanylyl cyclase 2d and other cell-type specific molecules. GC-D-positive neurons project their axons to a small group of atypical "necklace" glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, some of which are activated in response to suckling in neonatal rodents and to atmospheric CO2 in adult mice. Because GC-D is a pseudogene in humans, signaling through this system appears to have been lost at some point in primate evolution.Here we used a combination of bioinformatic analysis of trace-archive and genome-assembly data and sequencing of PCR-amplified genomic DNA to determine when during primate evolution the functional gene was lost. Our analysis reveals that GC-D is a pseudogene in a large number of primate species, including apes, Old World and New World monkeys and tarsier. In contrast, the gene appears intact and has evolved under purifying selection in mouse, rat, dog, lemur and bushbaby.These data suggest that signaling through GC-D-expressing cells was probably compromised more than 40 million years ago, prior to the divergence of New World monkeys from Old World monkeys and apes, and thus cannot be involved in chemosensation in most primates.

Soluble human CD4 elicits an antibody response in rhesus monkeys that inhibits simian immunodeficiency virus replication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Mamoru; Chen, Zheng W.; Tsubota, Hiroshi; Lord, C.I.; Levine, C.G.; Letvin, N.L.

1991-01-01

Rhesus monkeys infected with the simian immunodeficiency virus of macaques (SIV mac ) demonstrate significant virologic and clinical improvement as a result of treatment with human recombinant soluble CD4 (rsCD4). The authors show that human rsCD4 does not efficiently inhibit SIV mac replication in bone marrow macrophages of rhesus monkeys and does not significantly augment bone marrow hematopoietic colony formation in vitro. However, plasma of human rsCD4-treated rhesus monkeys does exhibit significant anti-SIV mac activity in vitro. Plasma of these animals efficiently blocks SIV mac replicaton in peripheral blood lymphocytes and bone marrow macrophages. It also increases granulocyte/macrophage colony formation in vitro by bone marrow cells of SIV mac -infected monkeys. This plasma and the IgG fraction of plasma from a rhesus monkey immunized with human rsCD4 in adjuvant demonstrate reactivity with a soluble form of the rhesus monkey CD4 molecule, exhibit binding to CD4 + but not CD8 + concanavalin A-activated rhesus monkey peripheral blood lymphocytes, and precipitate the CD4 molecule from surface-labeled activated rhesus monkey peripheral blood lymphocytes. Moreover, anti-viral activity is demonstrable in the IgG fraction of plasma from a human rsCD4-immunized monkey. These studies raise the possibility that a modified human CD4 molecule serving as an immunogen might elicit an antibody response that could potentially induce a beneficial therapeutic response in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals

Psychophysical chromatic mechanisms in macaque monkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoughton, Cleo M; Lafer-Sousa, Rosa; Gagin, Galina; Conway, Bevil R

2012-10-24

Chromatic mechanisms have been studied extensively with psychophysical techniques in humans, but the number and nature of the mechanisms are still controversial. Appeals to monkey neurophysiology are often used to sort out the competing claims and to test hypotheses arising from the experiments in humans, but psychophysical chromatic mechanisms have never been assessed in monkeys. Here we address this issue by measuring color-detection thresholds in monkeys before and after chromatic adaptation, employing a standard approach used to determine chromatic mechanisms in humans. We conducted separate experiments using adaptation configured as either flickering full-field colors or heterochromatic gratings. Full-field colors would favor activity within the visual system at or before the arrival of retinal signals to V1, before the spatial transformation of color signals by the cortex. Conversely, gratings would favor activity within the cortex where neurons are often sensitive to spatial chromatic structure. Detection thresholds were selectively elevated for the colors of full-field adaptation when it modulated along either of the two cardinal chromatic axes that define cone-opponent color space [L vs M or S vs (L + M)], providing evidence for two privileged cardinal chromatic mechanisms implemented early in the visual-processing hierarchy. Adaptation with gratings produced elevated thresholds for colors of the adaptation regardless of its chromatic makeup, suggesting a cortical representation comprised of multiple higher-order mechanisms each selective for a different direction in color space. The results suggest that color is represented by two cardinal channels early in the processing hierarchy and many chromatic channels in brain regions closer to perceptual readout.

The APE nebuliser - a new delivery system for the alveolar targeting of particulate technetium 99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, R.F.; Semple, S.J.G.; Jarritt, P.H.; Lui, D.; Kidery, J.; Ell, P.J.

1991-01-01

We report the validation of a new delivery system - aerosol production equipment (known by the acronym APE), which generates a particulate aerosol of technetium 99m diehtylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) with a mass-median aerodynamic diameter of 0.35 μm and a geometric standard deviation of 1.8. Twenty subjects were studied; in group 1 were 12 healthy men with normal spirometry; in group 2 were 8 men with AIDS who had mildly abnormal lung function following an episode of pneumocystic pneumonia-spirometry FEV 1 3.08 (0.73) L, FVC 4.83 (0.82) L [mean (SD)]. The APE nebulizer was used to form a particulate aerosol with 200 MBq of 99m Tc DTPA, which was collected in a 35 l reservoir of air, which was subsequently inhaled. The mean (SD) inhalation time was 4.7 (0.44) min. The output of the nebulizer (% of activity inhaled) was 82%. Using planar imaging, the penetration index (right lung) in group 1 was 0.93 (0.18), mean (SD), and in group 2 it was 0.91 (0.12). There was virtually no tracheal deposition and extrapulmonary deposition (oropharynx and stomach) was less than 5% of the aerosol delivered. Single-photon emission tomography (SPET) studies carried out in five patients from group 1 confirmed homogeneous intrapulmonary deposition of 99m Tc-DTPA. In view of the excellent intrapulmonary deposition of 99m Tc-DTPA produced by the APE nebulizer, it may provide an alternative to conventional ventilation studies using radioactive gases. (orig.)

No effects of dioxin singly on limb malformations in macaque monkeys through epidemiological and treated studies

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Asaoka, Kazuo; Iida, Hiroko [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Primate Research Insitute, Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry; Watanabe, Kunio [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Primate Research Institute, Field Research Center; Goda, Hiroshi [Towa Kagaku Co., Ltd. (Japan); Ihara, Toshio; Nagata, Ryoichi [Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (Japan). Safety Research Facility; Yasuda, Mineo [Hiroshima International Univ. (Japan). Fac. of Health Sciences, Dept. of Clinical Engineering; Kubata, Shunichiro [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Life Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

2004-09-15

Human populations exposed with highly dioxin were suspected to be caused immunological dysfunctions, carcinogenesis, and developmental and reproductive dysfunctions. Because of species resemblances, the dioxin effects have been investigating using monkeys as a model for assessment of dioxin exposure on human health. Since 1957 the limb malformations of monkeys in Japan have been reported. The higher frequency of them was found in provisional groups of monkeys who were given the same kind of food for human. The chromosomal abnormalities are excluded from the factor for the congenital limb malformations that are still producing in Japan. In this study, the relations between dioxin and the limb malformations of macaque monkeys were estimated by the epidemiological and administered researches. The dioxin levels in monkeys were measured at two districts that one has the provisional groups including monkeys with limb malformations and the other has breeding groups never seeing the malformations for a long time. TEQ was calculated by the levels of dioxin isomers in the monkeys and the values show no difference between the two places and between the individuals with and without the limb malformations. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was administered via subcutaneous to pregnant rhesus monkeys from the day 20 of gestation to the day 90 after birth. The exposed babies, including the offspring and died in neonatal, had observed normal limbs in the range of 30-300 ng TCDD /kg of body weight.

On the nature of directed behavior to drug-associated light cues in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

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Reilly, Mark P; Berndt, Sonja I; Woods, James H

2016-11-01

The present study investigated the role of drug-paired stimuli in controlling the behavior of rhesus monkeys. Systematic observations were made with nine monkeys who had a history of drug self-administration; they had been lever pressing to produce intravenous infusions of various drugs. These observations revealed that the stimulus light co-occurring with drug infusion produced robust and cue-directed behavior such as orienting, touching and biting. Experiment 1 showed that this light-directed behavior would occur in naïve monkeys exposed to a Pavlovian pairing procedure. Four monkeys were given response-independent injections of cocaine. In two monkeys, a red light preceded cocaine injections by 5 s, and a green light co-occurred with the 5-s cocaine injections. In the other two monkeys, the light presentations and cocaine injections occurred independently. Light-directed behavior occurred in all four monkeys within the first couple of trials and at high levels but decreased across sessions. The cocaine-paired stimulus maintained behavior longer and at higher levels than the uncorrelated stimuli. Furthermore, light-directed behavior was not maintained when cocaine was replaced with saline. Light-directed behavior did not occur in the absence of the lights. When these monkeys were subsequently trained to lever press for cocaine, light-directed behavior increased to levels higher than previously observed. Behavior directed towards drug-paired stimuli is robust, reliable and multiply determined; the mechanisms underlying this activity likely include Pavlovian conditioning, stimulus novelty, habituation and operant conditioning.

Sagittal crest formation in great apes and gibbons

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Balolia, K. L.; Soligo, C.; Wood, B.

2017-01-01

The frequency of sagittal crest expression and patterns of sagittal crest growth and development have been documented in hominoids, including some extinct hominin taxa, and the more frequent expression of the sagittal crest in males has been traditionally linked with the need for larger-bodied individuals to have enough attachment area for the temporalis muscle. In the present study, we investigate sagittal cresting in a dentally mature sample of four hominoid taxa (Pan troglodytes schweinfur...

Sagittal crest formation in great apes and gibbons.

Science.gov (United States)

Balolia, Katharine L; Soligo, Christophe; Wood, Bernard

2017-06-01

The frequency of sagittal crest expression and patterns of sagittal crest growth and development have been documented in hominoids, including some extinct hominin taxa, and the more frequent expression of the sagittal crest in males has been traditionally linked with the need for larger-bodied individuals to have enough attachment area for the temporalis muscle. In the present study, we investigate sagittal cresting in a dentally mature sample of four hominoid taxa (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and Hylobates lar). We investigate whether sagittal crest size increases with age beyond dental maturity in males and females of G. g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus, and whether these taxa show sex differences in the timing of sagittal crest development. We evaluate the hypothesis that the larger sagittal crest of males may not be solely due to the requirement for a larger surface area than the un-crested cranial vault can provide for the attachment of the temporalis muscle, and present data on sex differences in temporalis muscle attachment area and sagittal crest size relative to cranial size. Gorilla g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus males show significant relationships between tooth wear rank and sagittal crest size, and they show sagittal crest size differences between age groups that are not found in females. The sagittal crest emerges in early adulthood in the majority of G. g. gorilla males, whereas the percentage of G. g. gorilla females possessing a sagittal crest increases more gradually. Pongo pyg. pygmaeus males experience a three-fold increase in the number of specimens exhibiting a sagittal crest in mid-adulthood, consistent with a secondary growth spurt. Gorilla g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus show significant sex differences in the size of the temporalis muscle attachment area, relative to cranial size, with males of both taxa showing positive allometry not shown in females. Gorilla g. gorilla males also show positive allometry for sagittal crest size relative to cranial size. Our results suggest that although patterns of sagittal crest expression have limited utility for taxonomy and phylogeny reconstruction, they could be useful for reconstructing aspects of social behaviour in some extinct hominin taxa. In particular, our results in G. g. gorilla and Po. pyg. pygmaeus, which suggest that the size of sagittal crests in males cannot be solely explained by the surface area required for attachment of the temporalis muscle, offer partial support for the hypothesis that large sagittal crests form in response to sexual selection and may play a role in social signalling. © 2017 Anatomical Society.

The Development of the Basal Ganglia in Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella)

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Phillips, Kimberley A.; Sobieski, Courtney A.; Gilbert, Valerie R.; Chiappini-Williamson, Christine; Sherwood, Chet C.; Strick, Peter L.

2010-01-01

The basal ganglia are subcortical structures involved in the planning, initiation and regulation of movement as well as a variety of non-motor, cognitive and affective functions. Capuchin monkeys share several important characteristics of development with humans, including a prolonged infancy and juvenile period, a long lifespan, and complex manipulative abilities. This makes capuchins important comparative models for understanding age-related neuroanatomical changes in these structures. Here we report developmental volumetric data on the three subdivisions of the basal ganglia, the caudate, putamen and globus pallidus in brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Based on a cross-sectional sample, we describe brain development in 28 brown capuchin monkeys (male n = 17, female n = 11; age range = 2 months – 20 years) using high-resolution structural MRI. We found that the raw volumes of the putamen and caudate varied significantly with age, decreasing in volume from birth through early adulthood. Notably, developmental changes did not differ between sexes. Because these observed developmental patterns are similar to humans, our results suggest that capuchin monkeys may be useful animal models for investigating neurodevelopmental disorders of the basal ganglia. PMID:20227397

Protective effect and the therapeutic index of indralin in juvenile rhesus monkeys

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Vasin, Mikhail V.; Antipov, Vsevolod V.; Ushakov, Igor B.; Semenov, Leonid F.; Lapin, Boris A.; Suvorov, Nikolai N.; Ilyin, Leonid A.

2014-01-01

The radioprotective effect of indralin in rhesus monkeys was examined over 60 d following gamma irradiation. Male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) 2-3-years-old and weighing 2.1-3.5 kg were used. Animals were exposed to total-body gamma irradiation from 60 Co at a dose of 6.8 Gy (lethal dose, 100% lethality over 30 days). Indralin (40-120 mg kg -1 ) was administered intramuscularly 5 min prior to radiation exposure. Indralin taken at a dose of 120 mg kg -1 protected five out of six monkeys (compared with the radiation control group, in which all 10 animals died). The average effective dose of indralin in the monkeys exposed to gamma irradiation for 30 min was equal to 77.3 (63.3-94.3) mg kg -1 , and the maximum tolerated dose of indralin administered to monkeys was 800 mg kg -1 . Indralin reduced radiation-induced injuries in macaques, thus resulting in a less severe course of acute radiation syndrome. Delayed and less pronounced manifestation of the haemorrhagic syndrome of the disease, and milder forms of both leukopenia and anaemia were also noted. The therapeutic index for indralin, expressed as the ratio of the maximum tolerated dose to the average effective dose, was equal to 10. Therefore, indralin has a significant radioprotective effect against radiation and has a high therapeutic index in rhesus monkeys. (author)

The Monkey Puzzle: A Systematic Review of Studies of Stress, Social Hierarchies, and Heart Disease in Monkeys

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Petticrew, Mark; Davey Smith, George

2012-01-01

Background It is often suggested that psychosocial factors, such as stress, or one's social position, may play an important role in producing social gradients in human disease. Evidence in favour of this model of health inequalities has relied, in part, on studies of the health effects of the natural social hierarchies found among non-human primates. This study aimed to assess the strength of this evidence. Methodology/Principal Findings A systematic review was carried out to identify all studies of psychosocial factors and coronary artery disease (CAD) in non-human primates. We searched databases (MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, and Primatelit from inception to November 2010) to identify experimental and observational studies of the impact of social reorganisation, social instability, and disruption of dominance hierarchies on primate CAD outcomes. We also handsearched bibliographies and examined the citations to those studies in public health articles. Fourteen studies were found which presented evidence on CAD and social status and/or psychosocial stress. These suggested that the association between social status and disease may be sex-specific: in female monkeys dominant status may be protective, with subordinate females having a greater extent of atherosclerosis. In male monkeys the reverse may be the case. Conclusions/Significance Overall, non-human primate studies present only limited evidence for an association between social status and CAD, Despite this, there is selective citation of individual non-human primate studies in reviews and commentaries relating to human disease aetiology. Such generalisation of data from monkey studies to human societies does not appear warranted. PMID:22470414

Monkeys Wait to Begin a Computer Task when Waiting Makes Their Responses More Effective

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Theodore A. Evans

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta and capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella performed a computerized inhibitory control task modeled after an “escalating interest task” from a recent human study (Young, Webb, & Jacobs, 2011. In the original study, which utilized a first-person shooter game, human participants learned to inhibit firing their simulated weapon long enough for the weapon‟s damage potential to grow in effectiveness (up to 10 seconds in duration. In the present study, monkeys earned food pellets for eliminating arrays of target objects using a digital eraser. We assessed whether monkeys could suppress trial-initiating joystick movements long enough for the eraser to grow in size and speed, thereby making their eventual responses more effective. Monkeys of both species learned to inhibit moving the eraser for as long as 10 seconds, and they allowed the eraser to grow larger for successively larger target arrays. This study demonstrates an interesting parallel in behavioral inhibition between human and nonhuman participants and provides a method for future comparative testing of human and nonhuman test groups.

Radioprotective effectiveness of adeturone in monkey experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolov, I.; Pantev, T.; Rogozkin, P.; Chertkov, K.; Dikovenko, E.; Kosarenkov, V.

1976-01-01

The radioprotective effect of adeturone (adenosine triphsophate salt of AET) was tested on 28 monkeys (Macaca mulata). The animals were gamma-irradiated (cobalt 60) with a dose of 680 R (17,6 R/min, LDsub(100/18)). Adeturone was administered intravenously for 5 minutes, from 6 to 15 minutes before irradiation in a dose of 150 mg/kg (1/2 of thr maximal tolerable dose). It was found that adeturone administration before the absolute lethal irradiation will ensure survival of 50 % of the monkeys. Radiation sickness in protected animals runs a milder course as shown by the duration of the latency period, the manifestation of the hemorrhagic syndrome, the leukopenia and erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. Some symptoms do not appear at all (diarrhoea) or develop later(hyperthermia, hypodynamia). (A.B.)

Easy rider: monkeys learn to drive a wheelchair to navigate through a complex maze.

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Etienne, Stephanie; Guthrie, Martin; Goillandeau, Michel; Nguyen, Tho Hai; Orignac, Hugues; Gross, Christian; Boraud, Thomas

2014-01-01

The neurological bases of spatial navigation are mainly investigated in rodents and seldom in primates. The few studies led on spatial navigation in both human and non-human primates are performed in virtual, not in real environments. This is mostly because of methodological difficulties inherent in conducting research on freely-moving monkeys in real world environments. There is some incertitude, however, regarding the extrapolation of rodent spatial navigation strategies to primates. Here we present an entirely new platform for investigating real spatial navigation in rhesus monkeys. We showed that monkeys can learn a pathway by using different strategies. In these experiments three monkeys learned to drive the wheelchair and to follow a specified route through a real maze. After learning the route, probe tests revealed that animals successively use three distinct navigation strategies based on i) the place of the reward, ii) the direction taken to obtain reward or iii) a cue indicating reward location. The strategy used depended of the options proposed and the duration of learning. This study reveals that monkeys, like rodents and humans, switch between different spatial navigation strategies with extended practice, implying well-conserved brain learning systems across different species. This new task with freely driving monkeys provides a good support for the electrophysiological and pharmacological investigation of spatial navigation in the real world by making possible electrophysiological and pharmacological investigations.

De novo DNA methylation during monkey pre-implantation embryogenesis.

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Gao, Fei; Niu, Yuyu; Sun, Yi Eve; Lu, Hanlin; Chen, Yongchang; Li, Siguang; Kang, Yu; Luo, Yuping; Si, Chenyang; Yu, Juehua; Li, Chang; Sun, Nianqin; Si, Wei; Wang, Hong; Ji, Weizhi; Tan, Tao

2017-04-01

Critical epigenetic regulation of primate embryogenesis entails DNA methylome changes. Here we report genome-wide composition, patterning, and stage-specific dynamics of DNA methylation in pre-implantation rhesus monkey embryos as well as male and female gametes studied using an optimized tagmentation-based whole-genome bisulfite sequencing method. We show that upon fertilization, both paternal and maternal genomes undergo active DNA demethylation, and genome-wide de novo DNA methylation is also initiated in the same period. By the 8-cell stage, remethylation becomes more pronounced than demethylation, resulting in an increase in global DNA methylation. Promoters of genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation are preferentially remethylated at the 8-cell stage, suggesting that this mode of energy metabolism may not be favored. Unlike in rodents, X chromosome inactivation is not observed during monkey pre-implantation development. Our study provides the first comprehensive illustration of the 'wax and wane' phases of DNA methylation dynamics. Most importantly, our DNA methyltransferase loss-of-function analysis indicates that DNA methylation influences early monkey embryogenesis.

Electrons at the monkey saddle: A multicritical Lifshitz point

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Shtyk, A.; Goldstein, G.; Chamon, C.

2017-01-01

We consider two-dimensional interacting electrons at a monkey saddle with dispersion ∝px3-3 pxpy2 . Such a dispersion naturally arises at the multicritical Lifshitz point when three Van Hove saddles merge in an elliptical umbilic elementary catastrophe, which we show can be realized in biased bilayer graphene. A multicritical Lifshitz point of this kind can be identified by its signature Landau level behavior Em∝(Bm ) 3 /2 and related oscillations in thermodynamic and transport properties, such as de Haas-Van Alphen and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, whose period triples as the system crosses the singularity. We show, in the case of a single monkey saddle, that the noninteracting electron fixed point is unstable to interactions under the renormalization-group flow, developing either a superconducting instability or non-Fermi-liquid features. Biased bilayer graphene, where there are two non-nested monkey saddles at the K and K' points, exhibits an interplay of competing many-body instabilities, namely, s -wave superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and spin- and charge-density waves.

Sterile protection against Plasmodium knowlesi in rhesus monkeys from a malaria vaccine: comparison of heterologous prime boost strategies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Jiang

Full Text Available Using newer vaccine platforms which have been effective against malaria in rodent models, we tested five immunization regimens against Plasmodium knowlesi in rhesus monkeys. All vaccines included the same four P. knowlesi antigens: the pre-erythrocytic antigens CSP, SSP2, and erythrocytic antigens AMA1, MSP1. We used four vaccine platforms for prime or boost vaccinations: plasmids (DNA, alphavirus replicons (VRP, attenuated adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad, or attenuated poxvirus (Pox. These four platforms combined to produce five different prime/boost vaccine regimens: Pox alone, VRP/Pox, VRP/Ad, Ad/Pox, and DNA/Pox. Five rhesus monkeys were immunized with each regimen, and five Control monkeys received a mock vaccination. The time to complete vaccinations was 420 days. All monkeys were challenged twice with 100 P. knowlesi sporozoites given IV. The first challenge was given 12 days after the last vaccination, and the monkeys receiving the DNA/Pox vaccine were the best protected, with 3/5 monkeys sterilely protected and 1/5 monkeys that self-cured its parasitemia. There was no protection in monkeys that received Pox malaria vaccine alone without previous priming. The second sporozoite challenge was given 4 months after the first. All 4 monkeys that were protected in the first challenge developed malaria in the second challenge. DNA, VRP and Ad5 vaccines all primed monkeys for strong immune responses after the Pox boost. We discuss the high level but short duration of protection in this experiment and the possible benefits of the long interval between prime and boost.

A comparative study on the frequencies of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in the somatic and germ cells in mouse and monkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobels, F.H.

1976-06-01

Two systems were mainly used for studying the relationship between radiation induced chromosome aberration frequencies in somatic and germ cells. The first consists of reciprocal translocation induced in bone-marrow cells of mice compared to reciprocal translocation induced spermatogonia (scored in descending spermatocytes) of the same mice. Dose-response curves for induced aberrations in both cell types (0-100-200-300-400-500 and 600 R X-rays) and dose rate effects indicated that (130-1.92-0.0287 R/min) of a 400 R γ-ray exposure of the two cell types mitotically dividing germ cells respond to radiation similarly to mitotic dividing germ cells. Clonal proliferation or selective elimination of aberration-carrying cells, and other post-irradiation factors can, however, cause great differences in absolute aberration frequencies. A similar study was attempted, using the rhesus monkey as a second system. Its bone-marrow cells were proved unsuitable for induced reciprocal translocations. Stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes were studied instead. Following 100, 200 and 300 R of X-rays, the frequencies of induced dicentric chromosomes were compared to those of induced reciprocal translocations in spermatogonia. Human peripheral blood was studied similarly. It was concluded that: (a) The absolute frequencies of chromosome aberrations in somatic and germ cells of the rhesus monkey are low compared to most other mammalian species. (b) The ratio between dicentric frequencies and reciprocal translocation frequencies at 100 R and 200 R differed significantly from 4:1 reported for mouse and Chinese hamster and 2:1 for marmoset and man. (c) Although the numbers of 'effective chromosome arms' in man and rhesus monkey are similar (81 vs 83), the rhesus monkey showed at all doses a lower rate of induction of dicentrics in blood lymphocytes than man, reaching statistical significance at the 300 R level

Comprehensive Evaluation for Substrate Selectivity of Cynomolgus Monkey Cytochrome P450 2C9, a New Efavirenz Oxidase.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosaka, Shinya; Murayama, Norie; Satsukawa, Masahiro; Uehara, Shotaro; Shimizu, Makiko; Iwasaki, Kazuhide; Iwano, Shunsuke; Uno, Yasuhiro; Yamazaki, Hiroshi

2015-07-01

Cynomolgus monkeys are widely used as primate models in preclinical studies, because of their evolutionary closeness to humans. In humans, the cytochrome P450 (P450) 2C enzymes are important drug-metabolizing enzymes and highly expressed in livers. The CYP2C enzymes, including CYP2C9, are also expressed abundantly in cynomolgus monkey liver and metabolize some endogenous and exogenous substances like testosterone, S-mephenytoin, and diclofenac. However, comprehensive evaluation regarding substrate specificity of monkey CYP2C9 has not been conducted. In the present study, 89 commercially available drugs were examined to find potential monkey CYP2C9 substrates. Among the compounds screened, 20 drugs were metabolized by monkey CYP2C9 at a relatively high rates. Seventeen of these compounds were substrates or inhibitors of human CYP2C9 or CYP2C19, whereas three drugs were not, indicating that substrate specificity of monkey CYP2C9 resembled those of human CYP2C9 or CYP2C19, with some differences in substrate specificities. Although efavirenz is known as a marker substrate for human CYP2B6, efavirenz was not oxidized by CYP2B6 but by CYP2C9 in monkeys. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that monkey CYP2C9 and human CYP2B6 formed the same mono- and di-oxidized metabolites of efavirenz at 8 and 14 positions. These results suggest that the efavirenz 8-oxidation could be one of the selective markers for cynomolgus monkey CYP2C9 among the major three CYP2C enzymes tested. Therefore, monkey CYP2C9 has the possibility of contributing to limited specific differences in drug oxidative metabolism between cynomolgus monkeys and humans. Copyright © 2015 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Risky business: rhesus monkeys exhibit persistent preferences for risky options.

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Xu, Eric R; Kralik, Jerald D

2014-01-01

Rhesus monkeys have been shown to prefer risky over safe options in experiential decision-making tasks. These findings might be due, however, to specific contextual factors, such as small amounts of fluid reward and minimal costs for risk-taking. To better understand the factors affecting decision-making under risk in rhesus monkeys, we tested multiple factors designed to increase the stakes including larger reward amounts, distinct food items rather than fluid reward, a smaller number of trials per session, and risky options with greater variation that also included non-rewarded outcomes. We found a consistent preference for risky options, except when the expected value of the safe option was greater than the risky option. Thus, with equivalent mean utilities between the safe and risky options, rhesus monkeys appear to have a robust preference for the risky options in a broad range of circumstances, akin to the preferences found in human children and some adults in similar tasks. One account for this result is that monkeys make their choices based on the salience of the largest payoff, without integrating likelihood and value across trials. A related idea is that they fail to override an impulsive tendency to select the option with the potential to obtain the highest possible outcome. Our results rule out strict versions of both accounts and contribute to an understanding of the diversity of risky decision-making among primates.

Pharmacokinetic modeling: Prediction and evaluation of route dependent dosimetry of bisphenol A in monkeys with extrapolation to humans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fisher, Jeffrey W.; Twaddle, Nathan C.; Vanlandingham, Michelle; Doerge, Daniel R.

2011-01-01

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed for bisphenol A (BPA) in adult rhesus monkeys using intravenous (iv) and oral bolus doses of 100 μg d6-BPA/kg (). This calibrated PBPK adult monkey model for BPA was then evaluated against published monkey kinetic studies with BPA. Using two versions of the adult monkey model based on monkey BPA kinetic data from and , the aglycone BPA pharmacokinetics were simulated for human oral ingestion of 5 mg d16-BPA per person (Völkel et al., 2002). Völkel et al. were unable to detect the aglycone BPA in plasma, but were able to detect BPA metabolites. These human model predictions of the aglycone BPA in plasma were then compared to previously published PBPK model predictions obtained by simulating the Völkel et al. kinetic study. Our BPA human model, using two parameter sets reflecting two adult monkey studies, both predicted lower aglycone levels in human serum than the previous human BPA PBPK model predictions. BPA was metabolized at all ages of monkey (PND 5 to adult) by the gut wall and liver. However, the hepatic metabolism of BPA and systemic clearance of its phase II metabolites appear to be slower in younger monkeys than adults. The use of the current non-human primate BPA model parameters provides more confidence in predicting the aglycone BPA in serum levels in humans after oral ingestion of BPA. -- Highlights: ► A bisphenol A (BPA) PBPK model for the infant and adult monkey was constructed. ► The hepatic metabolic rate of BPA increased with age of the monkey. ► The systemic clearance rate of metabolites increased with age of the monkey. ► Gut wall metabolism of orally administered BPA was substantial across all ages of monkeys. ► Aglycone BPA plasma concentrations were predicted in humans orally given oral doses of deuterated BPA.

Naturally transmitted herpesvirus papio-2 infection in a black and white colobus monkey.

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Troan, Brigid V; Perelygina, Ludmila; Patrusheva, Irina; Wettere, Arnaud J van; Hilliard, Julia K; Loomis, Michael R; Voe, Ryan S De

2007-12-15

A 6.5-year-old female eastern black and white colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) was evaluated after acute onset of ataxia and inappetence. The monkey was ataxic and lethargic, but no other abnormalities were detected via physical examination, radiography, or clinicopathologic analyses. During the next 2 days, the monkey's clinical condition deteriorated, and its WBC count decreased dramatically. Cytologic examination of a CSF sample revealed marked lymphohistiocytic inflammation. Despite supportive care, the monkey became apneic; after 20 hours of mechanical ventilation, fatal cardiac arrest occurred. At necropsy, numerous petechiae were detected within the white matter tracts of the brain; microscopic lesions of multifocal necrosis and hemorrhage with intranuclear inclusions identified in the brain and adrenal glands were consistent with an acute herpesvirus infection. A specific diagnosis of herpesvirus papio-2 (HVP-2) infection was made on the basis of results of serologic testing; PCR assay of tissue specimens; live virus isolation from the lungs; and immunohistochemical identification of the virus within brain, spinal cord, and adrenal gland lesions. Via phylogenetic tree analysis, the colobus HVP-2 isolate was grouped with neuroinvasive strains of the virus. The virus was most likely transmitted to the colobus monkey through toys shared with a nearby colony of baboons (the natural host of HVP-2). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of natural transmission of HVP-2 to a nonhost species. Infection with HVP-2 should be a differential diagnosis for acute encephalopathy in primate monkeys and humans, particularly following exposure to baboons.

High Expression of UGT1A1/1A6 in Monkey Small Intestine: Comparison of Protein Expression Levels of Cytochromes P450, UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases, and Transporters in Small Intestine of Cynomolgus Monkey and Human.

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Akazawa, Takanori; Uchida, Yasuo; Miyauchi, Eisuke; Tachikawa, Masanori; Ohtsuki, Sumio; Terasaki, Tetsuya

2018-01-02

Cynomolgus monkeys have been widely used for the prediction of drug absorption in humans. The purpose of this study was to clarify the regional protein expression levels of cytochromes P450 (CYPs), UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), and transporters in small intestine of cynomolgus monkey using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and to compare them with the corresponding levels in human. UGT1A1 in jejunum and ileum were >4.57- and >3.11-fold and UGT1A6 in jejunum and ileum were >16.1- and >8.57-fold, respectively, more highly expressed in monkey than in human. Also, jejunal expression of monkey CYP3A8 (homologue of human CYP3A4) was >3.34-fold higher than that of human CYP3A4. Among apical drug efflux transporters, BCRP showed the most abundant expression in monkey and human, and the expression levels of BCRP in monkey and human were >1.74- and >1.25-fold greater than those of P-gp and >2.76- and >4.50-fold greater than those of MRP2, respectively. These findings should be helpful to understand species differences of the functions of CYPs, UGTs, and transporters between monkey and human. The UGT1A1/1A6 data would be especially important because it is difficult to identify isoforms responsible for species differences of intestinal glucuronidation by means of functional studies due to overlapping substrate specificity.

TALEN-based generation of a cynomolgus monkey disease model for human microcephaly

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Qiong; Li, Weiqiang; Lai, Xingqiang; Chen, Hong; Huang, Lihua; Kang, Zhuang; Li, Kai; Ren, Jie; Lin, Xiaofeng; Zheng, Haiqing; Huang, Weijun; Ma, Yunhan; Xu, Dongdong; Chen, Zheng; Song, Xinming; Lin, Xinyi; Zhuang, Min; Wang, Tao; Zhuang, Fengfeng; Xi, Jianzhong; Mao, Frank Fuxiang; Xia, Huimin; Lahn, Bruce T; Zhou, Qi; Yang, Shihua; Xiang, Andy Peng

2016-01-01

Gene editing in non-human primates may lead to valuable models for exploring the etiologies and therapeutic strategies of genetically based neurological disorders in humans. However, a monkey model of neurological disorders that closely mimics pathological and behavioral deficits in humans has not yet been successfully generated. Microcephalin 1 (MCPH1) is implicated in the evolution of the human brain, and MCPH1 mutation causes microcephaly accompanied by mental retardation. Here we generated a cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) carrying biallelic MCPH1 mutations using transcription activator-like effector nucleases. The monkey recapitulated most of the important clinical features observed in patients, including marked reductions in head circumference, premature chromosome condensation (PCC), hypoplasia of the corpus callosum and upper limb spasticity. Moreover, overexpression of MCPH1 in mutated dermal fibroblasts rescued the PCC syndrome. This monkey model may help us elucidate the role of MCPH1 in the pathogenesis of human microcephaly and better understand the function of this protein in the evolution of primate brain size. PMID:27502025

Bioassay of circulating luteinizing hormone in the rhesus monkey: comparison with radioimmunoassay during physiological changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufau, M.L.; Hodgen, G.D.; Goodman, A.L.; Catt, K.J.

1977-01-01

The concentration of biologically active LH in Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) serum was measured by a highly sensitive bioassay based upon testosterone production by dispersed rat interstitial cells. The sensitivity of the in vitro bioassay was equal to or higher than that of radioimmunoassay, with detection limits of 0.1 mIU of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) or 10 ng of a Rhesus pituitary gonadotropin preparation (LER-1909-2). Parallel dose-response curves were obtained for hMG and Rhesus monkey pituitary gonadotropin. The method permits bioassay of LH in 20--100 μl of serum from adult male monkeys, and from female monkeys during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Bioactive LH concentrations could be assayed in 0.25 to 5 μl of serum from mid-cycle, postmenopausal, and castrated female monkeys. Serum LH was undetectable in two hypophysectomized adult female monkeys and six intact immature animals, and was 13 +- 6 (SD) mIU/ml in adult male monkeys. In adult females, follicular phase LH levels ranged from 17 to 169 mIU/ml, with a mean of 76 +- 52 mIU/ml. The midcycle LH peak was 1738 +- 742 mIU/ml and the luteal phase values ranged from 6-47 mIU/ml, with a mean of 35 +- 5 mIU/ml. Serum LH concentrations ranged from 100 to 900 mIU/ml in two menopausal females, and from 590--1480 mIU/ml in castrated females. Treatment of castrated female monkeys with estrogen plus progesterone produced an initial two-fold rise in sepum LH within 3 days, followed by a gradual decline to one-fourth to one-tenth of the initial levels after 10 days of treatment. Serum LH was suppressed to undetectable levels during the third week, and remained so for the duration of the 60-day treatment period

Monkey Feeding Assay for Testing Emetic Activity of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Keun Seok

2016-01-01

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are unique bacterial toxins that cause gastrointestinal toxicity as well as superantigenic activity. Since systemic administration of SEs induces superantigenic activity leading to toxic shock syndrome that may mimic enterotoxic activity of SEs such as vomiting and diarrhea, oral administration of SEs in the monkey feeding assay is considered as a standard method to evaluate emetic activity of SEs. This chapter summarizes and discusses practical considerations of the monkey feeding assay used in studies characterizing classical and newly identified SEs.

Hemopoiesis in monkeys in the course of and after total chronic irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzhikikidze, Eh.E.; Kosichenko, L.P.; Kuksova, M.I.

1992-01-01

Morphological and cytogenetic changes in blood-formation system of 2 types of monkeys were studied following chronic prolonged irradiation with low daily doses and considerable integral radiation load. Peak decrease of total leukocyte number of 1 mkl in both groups of monkeys at the expense of neutrophils was observed at integral dose of 10.78 Gy and was caused by decrease of index of neutrophil maturation. Violations of hereditary structures of bone marrow cells and peripheric blood lymphocytes were stable. Structural chromosomal aberrations remained in monkeys of both groups up to natural animal death. Quantitative and qualitative violations were less pronounced in macaca rhesus than in hamadryas baboons. This fact revealed high radiosensitivity of the baboons

Basic Math in Monkeys and College Students

OpenAIRE

Beran, Michael J

2008-01-01

Recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies with humans and monkeys provide compelling evidence of shared numerical capacities across species. Our understanding of the emergence of human mathematical competence is well-served by these kinds of comparative assessments.

Antigenic relatedness of primate procollagens as determined by a competitive radioimmunoassay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taubman, M.B.; Goldberg, B.

1978-01-01

A radioimmunoassay specific for the nonhelical carboxy terminal portion of human type I procollagen was used to study the antigenic relatedness of primate procollagens. The assay identified reactive antigen in primate sera and in the media of primate fibroblast cultures. The displacement curves generated in the assay indicated that human and ape type I procollagens have antigenically identical carboxy terminal determinants which are partially cross-reactive with those from Old and New World monkeys. (author)

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey.

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Taubert, Jessica; Wardle, Susan G; Flessert, Molly; Leopold, David A; Ungerleider, Leslie G

2017-08-21

Face perception in humans and nonhuman primates is rapid and accurate [1-4]. In the human brain, a network of visual-processing regions is specialized for faces [5-7]. Although face processing is a priority of the primate visual system, face detection is not infallible. Face pareidolia is the compelling illusion of perceiving facial features on inanimate objects, such as the illusory face on the surface of the moon. Although face pareidolia is commonly experienced by humans, its presence in other species is unknown. Here we provide evidence for face pareidolia in a species known to possess a complex face-processing system [8-10]: the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). In a visual preference task [11, 12], monkeys looked longer at photographs of objects that elicited face pareidolia in human observers than at photographs of similar objects that did not elicit illusory faces. Examination of eye movements revealed that monkeys fixated the illusory internal facial features in a pattern consistent with how they view photographs of faces [13]. Although the specialized response to faces observed in humans [1, 3, 5-7, 14] is often argued to be continuous across primates [4, 15], it was previously unclear whether face pareidolia arose from a uniquely human capacity. For example, pareidolia could be a product of the human aptitude for perceptual abstraction or result from frequent exposure to cartoons and illustrations that anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Instead, our results indicate that the perception of illusory facial features on inanimate objects is driven by a broadly tuned face-detection mechanism that we share with other species. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Induced Neurocysticercosis in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta Produces Clinical Signs and Lesions Similar to Natural Disease in Man

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N. Chowdhury

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Neurocysticercosis is a serious endemic zoonosis resulting in increased cases of seizure and epilepsy in humans. The genesis of clinical manifestations of the disease through experimental animal models is poorly exploited. The monkeys may prove useful for the purpose due to their behavior and cognitive responses mimicking man. In this study, neurocysticercosis was induced in two rhesus monkeys each with 12,000 and 6,000 eggs, whereas three monkeys were given placebo. The monkeys given higher dose developed hyperexcitability, epileptic seizures, muscular tremors, digital cramps at 10 DPI, and finally paralysis of limbs, followed by death on 67 DPI, whereas the monkeys given lower dose showed delayed and milder clinical signs. On necropsy, all the infected monkeys showed numerous cysticerci in the brain. Histopathologically, heavily infected monkeys revealed liquefactive necrosis and formation of irregular cystic cavities lined by atrophied parenchymal septa with remnants of neuropil of the cerebrum. In contrast, the monkeys infected with lower dose showed formation of typical foreign body granulomas characterized by central liquefaction surrounded by chronic inflammatory response. It was concluded that the inflammatory and immune response exerted by the host against cysticerci, in turn, led to histopathological lesions and the resultant clinical signs thereof.

Neurotoxic response of infant monkeys to methylmercury

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willes, R.F.; Truelove, J.F.; Nera, E.A.

1978-02-01

Four infant monkeys were dosed orally with 500 ..mu..g Hg/kg body wt./day (as methylmercury (MeHg) chloride dissolved sodium carbonate) beginning at 1 day of age. Neurological and behavioral signs of MeHg toxicity and blood Hg levels were monitored weekly. At first sign of MeHg intoxication, dosing with MeHg was terminated and the infants were monitored to assess reversal of the signs of MeHg toxicity. The first signs of MeHg toxicity, exhibited as a loss in dexterity and locomotor ability, were observed after 28 to 29 days of treatment; the blood Hg levels were 8.0 to 9.4 ..mu..g Hg/g blood. Dosing was terminated at 28 to 29 days of treatment but the signs of MeHg toxicity continued to develop. The infants became ataxic, blind, comatose and were necropsied at 35 to 43 days after initiating treatment with MgHg. The mercury concentrations in tissues analyzed after necropsy were highest in liver followed by occipital cortex and renal cortex. The mean blood/brain ratio was 0.21 +- 0.4. Histopathologic lesions were marked in the cerebrum with less severe lesions in the cerebellar nuclei. The Purkinje and granular cells of the cerebellar vermis appeared histologically normal. Lesions were not observed in the peripheral nervous system. The signs of MeHg intoxication, the tissue distribution of MeHg and histopathologic lesions observed in the infant monkeys were similar to those reported for adult monkeys.

microRNA-128a dysregulation in transgenic Huntington’s disease monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a single causal mutation in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been implicated as epigenetic regulators of neurological disorders, however, their role in HD pathogenesis is not well defined. Here we study transgenic HD monkeys (HD monkeys) to examine miRNA dysregulation in a primate model of the disease. Results In this report, 11 miRNAs were found to be significantly associated (P value monkeys. We further focused on one of those candidates, miR-128a, due to the corresponding disruption in humans and mice with HD as well as its intriguing lists of gene targets. miR-128a was downregulated in our HD monkey model by the time of birth. We then confirmed that miR-128a was also downregulated in the brains of pre-symptomatic and post-symptomatic HD patients. Additionally, our studies confirmed a panel of canonical HD signaling genes regulated by miR-128a, including HTT and Huntingtin Interaction Protein 1 (HIP1). Conclusion Our studies found that miR-128a may play a critical role in HD and could be a viable candidate as a therapeutic or biomarker of the disease. PMID:24929669

On Primatology and Ethics: When Monkeys and Apes Are Informants.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Barbara J.

1993-01-01

Comments to a previous article focusing on power and method in linguistic research. It is suggested that the method advocated is worthwhile, modifiable for other disciplines, and should be read and discussed by scholars from many fields. (VWL)

Autoshaping and automaintenance of a key-press response in squirrel monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamzu, E; Schwam, E

1974-03-01

Following exposure for a minimum of 500 to 600 trials, three of four naive squirrel monkeys eventually pressed a response key, illumination of which always preceded delivery of a food pellet. Three other naive monkeys did not press the key when the pellets were delivered randomly with respect to key illumination. Despite some similarities to autoshaping using pigeons, the data indicate many points of difference when squirrel monkeys are used as subjects. Although key-food pairings were shown to be important in the acquisition of the key-press response, they were ineffective in maintaining the response when either a negative response-reinforcer dependency was introduced, or when there was no scheduled response-reinforcer dependency (fixed trial). Not all demonstrations of autoshaping can be considered to be under the control of those processes that are primarily responsible for the phenomena obtained in pigeons.

A case of polymicrogyria in macaque monkey: impact on anatomy and function of the motor system

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Rouiller Eric M

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Polymicrogyria is a malformation of the cerebral cortex often resulting in epilepsy or mental retardation. It remains unclear whether this pathology affects the structure and function of the corticospinal (CS system. The anatomy and histology of the brain of one macaque monkey exhibiting a spontaneous polymicrogyria (PMG monkey were examined and compared to the brain of normal monkeys. The CS tract was labelled by injecting a neuronal tracer (BDA unilaterally in a region where low intensity electrical microstimulation elicited contralateral hand movements (presumably the primary motor cortex in the PMG monkey. Results The examination of the brain showed a large number of microgyri at macro- and microscopic levels, covering mainly the frontoparietal regions. The layered cortical organization was locally disrupted and the number of SMI-32 stained pyramidal neurons in the cortical layer III of the presumed motor cortex was reduced. We compared the distribution of labelled CS axons in the PMG monkey at spinal cervical level C5. The cumulated length of CS axon arbors in the spinal grey matter was not significantly different in the PMG monkey. In the red nucleus, numerous neurons presented large vesicles. We also assessed its motor performances by comparing its capacity to execute a complex reach and grasp behavioral task. The PMG monkey exhibited an increase of reaction time without any modification of other motor parameters, an observation in line with a normal CS tract organisation. Conclusion In spite of substantial cortical malformations in the frontal and parietal lobes, the PMG monkey exhibits surprisingly normal structure and function of the corticospinal system.

Optimized total body irradiation for induction of renal allograft tolerance through mixed chimerism in cynomolgus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimikawa, Masaaki; Kawai, Tatsuo; Ota, Kazuo

1996-01-01

We previously demonstrated that a nonmyeloablative preparative regimen can induce mixed chimerism and renal allograft tolerance between MHC-disparate non-human primates. The basic regimen includes anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), total body irradiation (TBI, 300 cGy), thymic irradiation (TI, 700 cGy), splenectomy, donor bone marrow (DBM) infusion, and posttransplant cyclosporine therapy (CYA, discontinued after 4 weeks). To evaluate the importance and to minimize the toxicity of irradiation, kidney allografts were transplanted with various manipulations of the irradiation protocol. Monkeys treated with the basic protocol without TBI and TI did not develop chimerism or long-term allograft survival. In monkeys treated with the full protocol, all six monkeys treated with two fractionated dose of 150 cGy developed chimerism and five monkeys appeared tolerant. In contrast, only two of the four monkeys treated with fractionated doses of 125 cGy developed chimerism and only one monkey survived long term. The degree of lymphocyte depletion in all recipients was proportional to the TBI dose. The fractionated TBI regimen of 150 cGy appears to be the most consistently effective regimen for establishing donor bone marrow cell engraftment and allograft tolerance. (author)

Optimized total body irradiation for induction of renal allograft tolerance through mixed chimerism in cynomolgus monkeys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kimikawa, Masaaki; Kawai, Tatsuo; Ota, Kazuo [Tokyo Women`s Medical Coll. (Japan)

1996-12-01

We previously demonstrated that a nonmyeloablative preparative regimen can induce mixed chimerism and renal allograft tolerance between MHC-disparate non-human primates. The basic regimen includes anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), total body irradiation (TBI, 300 cGy), thymic irradiation (TI, 700 cGy), splenectomy, donor bone marrow (DBM) infusion, and posttransplant cyclosporine therapy (CYA, discontinued after 4 weeks). To evaluate the importance and to minimize the toxicity of irradiation, kidney allografts were transplanted with various manipulations of the irradiation protocol. Monkeys treated with the basic protocol without TBI and TI did not develop chimerism or long-term allograft survival. In monkeys treated with the full protocol, all six monkeys treated with two fractionated dose of 150 cGy developed chimerism and five monkeys appeared tolerant. In contrast, only two of the four monkeys treated with fractionated doses of 125 cGy developed chimerism and only one monkey survived long term. The degree of lymphocyte depletion in all recipients was proportional to the TBI dose. The fractionated TBI regimen of 150 cGy appears to be the most consistently effective regimen for establishing donor bone marrow cell engraftment and allograft tolerance. (author)

Polymorphic New World monkeys with more than three M/L cone types

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Gerald H.; Deegan, Jess F.

2005-10-01

Most New World (platyrrhine) monkeys have M/L cone photopigment polymorphisms that map directly into individual variations in visual sensitivity and color vision. We used electroretinogram flicker photometry to examine M/L cone photopigments in the New World monkey Callicebus moloch (the dusky Titi). Like other New World monkeys, this species has an M/L cone photopigment polymorphism that reflects the presence of X-chromosome opsin gene alleles. However, unlike other platyrrhines in which three M/L photopigments are typical, Callicebus has a total of five M/L cone photopigments. The peak sensitivity values for these pigments extend across the range from 530 to 562 nm. The result is an enhanced array of potential color vision phenotypes in this species.

Toward the restoration of hand use to a paralyzed monkey: brain-controlled functional electrical stimulation of forearm muscles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric A Pohlmeyer

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Loss of hand use is considered by many spinal cord injury survivors to be the most devastating consequence of their injury. Functional electrical stimulation (FES of forearm and hand muscles has been used to provide basic, voluntary hand grasp to hundreds of human patients. Current approaches typically grade pre-programmed patterns of muscle activation using simple control signals, such as those derived from residual movement or muscle activity. However, the use of such fixed stimulation patterns limits hand function to the few tasks programmed into the controller. In contrast, we are developing a system that uses neural signals recorded from a multi-electrode array implanted in the motor cortex; this system has the potential to provide independent control of multiple muscles over a broad range of functional tasks. Two monkeys were able to use this cortically controlled FES system to control the contraction of four forearm muscles despite temporary limb paralysis. The amount of wrist force the monkeys were able to produce in a one-dimensional force tracking task was significantly increased. Furthermore, the monkeys were able to control the magnitude and time course of the force with sufficient accuracy to track visually displayed force targets at speeds reduced by only one-third to one-half of normal. Although these results were achieved by controlling only four muscles, there is no fundamental reason why the same methods could not be scaled up to control a larger number of muscles. We believe these results provide an important proof of concept that brain-controlled FES prostheses could ultimately be of great benefit to paralyzed patients with injuries in the mid-cervical spinal cord.

Metabolic alkalosis during immobilization in monkeys (M. nemestrina)

Science.gov (United States)

Young, D. R.; Yeh, I.; Swenson, R. S.

1983-01-01

The systemic and renal acid-base response of monkeys during ten weeks of immobilization was studied. By three weeks of immobilization, arterial pH and bicarbonate concentrations were elevated (chronic metabolic alkalosis). Net urinary acid excretion increased in immobilized animals. Urinary bicarbonate excretion decreased during the first three weeks of immobilization, and then returned to control levels. Sustained increases in urinary ammonium excretion were seen throughout the time duration of immobilization. Neither potassium depletion nor hypokalemia was observed. Most parameters returned promptly to the normal range during the first week of recovery. Factors tentatively associated with changes in acid-base status of monkeys include contraction of extracellular fluid volume, retention of bicarbonate, increased acid excretion, and possible participation of extrarenal buffers.

Sensor placement on Canton Tower for health monitoring using asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Ting-Hua; Li, Hong-Nan; Zhang, Xu-Dong

2012-12-01

Heuristic optimization algorithms have become a popular choice for solving complex and intricate sensor placement problems which are difficult to solve by traditional methods. This paper proposes a novel and interesting methodology called the asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm (AMA) for the optimum design of sensor arrays for a structural health monitoring system. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is designed and adopted for the representation of the design variables. The asynchronous-climb process is incorporated in the proposed AMA that can adjust the trajectory of each individual dynamically in the search space according to its own experience and other monkeys. The concept of ‘monkey king’ is introduced in the AMA, which reflects the Darwinian principle of natural selection and can create an interaction network to correctly guide the movement of other monkeys. Numerical experiments are carried out using two different objective functions by considering the Canton Tower in China with or without the antenna mast to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Investigations have indicated that the proposed AMA exhibits faster convergence characteristics and can generate sensor configurations superior in all instances when compared to the conventional monkey algorithm. For structures with stiffness mutation such as the Canton Tower, the sensor placement needs to be considered for each part separately.

Sensor placement on Canton Tower for health monitoring using asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Ting-Hua; Li, Hong-Nan; Zhang, Xu-Dong

2012-01-01

Heuristic optimization algorithms have become a popular choice for solving complex and intricate sensor placement problems which are difficult to solve by traditional methods. This paper proposes a novel and interesting methodology called the asynchronous-climb monkey algorithm (AMA) for the optimum design of sensor arrays for a structural health monitoring system. Different from the existing algorithms, the dual-structure coding method is designed and adopted for the representation of the design variables. The asynchronous-climb process is incorporated in the proposed AMA that can adjust the trajectory of each individual dynamically in the search space according to its own experience and other monkeys. The concept of ‘monkey king’ is introduced in the AMA, which reflects the Darwinian principle of natural selection and can create an interaction network to correctly guide the movement of other monkeys. Numerical experiments are carried out using two different objective functions by considering the Canton Tower in China with or without the antenna mast to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Investigations have indicated that the proposed AMA exhibits faster convergence characteristics and can generate sensor configurations superior in all instances when compared to the conventional monkey algorithm. For structures with stiffness mutation such as the Canton Tower, the sensor placement needs to be considered for each part separately. (paper)

Prenatal methylmercury exposure affects spatial vision in adult monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burbacher, Thomas M.; Grant, Kimberly S.; Mayfield, David B.; Gilbert, Steven G.; Rice, Deborah C.

2005-01-01

Decades of research have demonstrated that exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, can have both early and long-term neurobehavioral consequences in exposed offspring. The present study assessed visual functioning in adult macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) exposed in utero to 0, 50, 70, or 90 μg/kg/day of MeHg hydroxide. Twenty-one full-term, normal birth weight offspring (9 controls, 12 exposed) were tested at approximately 11-14.5 years of age on a visual contrast sensitivity task. A forced-choice tracking procedure was utilized with spatial frequencies of 1, 4, 10, and 20 cycles per degree of visual angle. On each test session, a single spatial frequency was presented across five levels of contrast, each differing by 3 dB. Methylmercury-exposed monkeys exhibited reduced contrast sensitivity thresholds, particularly at the higher spatial frequencies. The degree of visual impairment was not related to MeHg body burden or clearance and almost half of the exposed animals were unimpaired. The results from this study demonstrate that chronic in utero MeHg exposure, at subclinical levels, is associated with permanent adverse effects on spatial vision in adult monkeys

Attenuation and immunogenicity of recombinant yellow fever 17D-dengue type 2 virus for rhesus monkeys

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Galler R.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available A chimeric yellow fever (YF-dengue serotype 2 (dengue 2 virus was constructed by replacing the premembrane and envelope genes of the YF 17D virus with those from dengue 2 virus strains of Southeast Asian genotype. The virus grew to high titers in Vero cells and, after passage 2, was used for immunogenicity and attenuation studies in rhesus monkeys. Subcutaneous immunization of naive rhesus monkeys with the 17D-D2 chimeric virus induced a neutralizing antibody response associated with the protection of 6 of 7 monkeys against viremia by wild-type dengue 2 virus. Neutralizing antibody titers to dengue 2 were significantly lower in YF-immune animals than in YF-naive monkeys and protection against challenge with wild-type dengue 2 virus was observed in only 2 of 11 YF-immune monkeys. An anamnestic response to dengue 2, indicated by a sharp increase of neutralizing antibody titers, was observed in the majority of the monkeys after challenge with wild-type virus. Virus attenuation was demonstrated using the standard monkey neurovirulence test. The 17D-D2 chimera caused significantly fewer histological lesions than the YF 17DD virus. The attenuated phenotype could also be inferred from the limited viremias compared to the YF 17DD vaccine. Overall, these results provide further support for the use of chimeric viruses for the development of a new live tetravalent dengue vaccine.

Effects of social reorganization on dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability and cocaine self-administration in male cynomolgus monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Czoty, P W; Gould, R W; Gage, H D; Nader, M A

2017-09-01

Studies have demonstrated that brain dopamine D2/D3 receptors (D2/D3R) and the reinforcing effects of cocaine can be influenced by a monkey's position in the social dominance hierarchy. In this study, we manipulated the social ranks of monkeys by reorganizing social groups and assessed effects on D2/D3R availability and cocaine self-administration. Male cynomolgus monkeys (N = 12) had been trained to self-administer cocaine under a concurrent cocaine-food reinforcement schedule. Previously, PET measures of D2/D3R availability in the caudate nucleus and putamen had been obtained with [ 18 F]fluoroclebopride during cocaine abstinence, while monkeys lived in stable social groups of four monkeys/pen. For this study, monkeys were reorganized into groups that consisted of (1) four previously dominant, (2) four previously subordinate, and (3) a mix of previously dominant and subordinate monkeys. After 3 months, D2/D3R availability was redetermined and cocaine self-administration was reexamined. D2/D3R availability significantly increased after reorganization in monkeys who were formerly subordinate, with the greatest increases observed in those that became dominant. No consistent changes in D2/D3R availability were observed in formerly dominant monkeys. Cocaine self-administration did not vary according to rank after reorganization of social groups. However, when compared to their previous cocaine self-administration data, the potency of cocaine as a reinforcer decreased in 9 of 11 monkeys. These results indicate that changing the social conditions can alter D2/D3R availability in subordinate monkeys in a manner suggestive of environmental enrichment. In most monkeys, social reorganization shifted the cocaine dose-response curve to the right, also consistent with environmental enrichment.

Molecularly engineered live-attenuated chimeric West Nile/dengue virus vaccines protect rhesus monkeys from West Nile virus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pletnev, Alexander G.; St Claire, Marisa; Elkins, Randy; Speicher, Jim; Murphy, Brian R.; Chanock, Robert M.

2003-01-01

Two molecularly engineered, live-attenuated West Nile virus (WN) vaccine candidates were highly attenuated and protective in rhesus monkeys. The vaccine candidates are chimeric viruses (designated WN/DEN4) bearing the membrane precursor and envelope protein genes of WN on a backbone of dengue 4 virus (DEN4) with or without a deletion of 30 nucleotides (Δ30) in the 3' noncoding region of DEN4. Viremia in WN/DEN4- infected monkeys was reduced 100-fold compared to that in WN- or DEN4-infected monkeys. WN/DEN4-3'Δ30 did not cause detectable viremia, indicating that it is even more attenuated for monkeys. These findings indicate that chimerization itself and the presence of the Δ30 mutation independently contribute to the attenuation phenotype for nonhuman primates. Despite their high level of attenuation in monkeys, the chimeras induced a moderate-to-high titer of neutralizing antibodies and prevented viremia in monkeys challenged with WN. The more attenuated vaccine candidate, WN/DEN4-3'Δ30, will be evaluated first in our initial clinical studies

Processing of vocalizations in humans and monkeys: A comparative fMRI study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joly, Olivier; Orban, Guy A.; Pallier, Christophe; Ramus, Franck; Pressnitzer, Daniel; Vanduffel, Wim

2012-01-01

Humans and many other animals use acoustical signals to mediate social interactions with con-specifics. The evolution of sound-based communication is still poorly understood and its neural correlates have only recently begun to be investigated. In the present study, we applied functional MRI to humans and macaque monkeys listening to identical stimuli in order to compare the cortical networks involved in the processing of vocalizations. At the first stages of auditory processing, both species showed similar fMRI activity maps within and around the lateral sulcus (the Sylvian fissure in humans). Monkeys showed remarkably similar responses to monkey calls and to human vocal sounds (speech or otherwise), mainly in the lateral sulcus and the adjacent superior temporal gyrus (STG). In contrast, a preference for human vocalizations and especially for speech was observed in the human STG and superior temporal sulcus (STS). The STS and Broca's region were especially responsive to intelligible utterances. The evolution of the language faculty in humans appears to have recruited most of the STS. It may be that in monkeys, a much simpler repertoire of vocalizations requires less involvement of this temporal territory. (authors)

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Physiology and Cognitive Control of Behavior in Stress Inoculated Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Karen J.; Buckmaster, Christine L.; Lindley, Steven E.; Schatzberg, Alan F.; Lyons, David M.

2012-01-01

Monkeys exposed to stress inoculation protocols early in life subsequently exhibit diminished neurobiological responses to moderate psychological stressors and enhanced cognitive control of behavior during juvenile development compared to non-inoculated monkeys. The present experiments extended these findings and revealed that stress inoculated…

Processing of pro-opiomelanocortin-derived amidated joining peptide and glycine-extended precursor in monkey pituitary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fenger, M

1991-01-01

The molecular forms of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) derived amidated and C-terminal glycine-extended joining peptide from monkey (Macaca mulatta) pituitary were determined. The predominant forms of joining peptide found were the low molecular peptides POMC(76-105) and POMC(76-106), respectively...... sequence of monkey and human POMC extremely conserved, but also the processing patterns are similar. The monkey therefore serves as a suitable model for studying regulation of the processing of POMC and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in man....

Behavioral thermoregulation in a group of zoo-housed colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza).

Science.gov (United States)

Wark, Jason D; Kuhar, Christopher W; Lukas, Kristen E

2014-01-01

Although wild primates are known to modify behavior in response to thermal stress, less is known about behavioral thermoregulation in zoo-housed primates. Zoo exhibits expose individuals to unique thermal environments and may constrain the thermoregulatory strategies available to individual animals. In this study, we observed a group of seven colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) living on a concrete "Monkey Island" style exhibit that featured limited shade and limited arboreal space. Behaviors were recorded using continuous focal animal sampling (n = 63 days, 97.7 hr). Logistic regression revealed 23°C was the temperature at which monkeys began resting more in shade than in sun. When temperatures exceeded 23°C, animals spent more time in open sitting postures with limbs extended from the body; sat less frequently in closed, hunched postures; spent more time in social contact; and performed more self-directed behaviors. Exhibit use also shifted under higher temperatures, with more time spent in areas with shade and lower surface temperatures. Lastly, when provided with access to an indoor holding area, the colobus monkeys spent more than half the time indoors when temperatures exceeded 23°C, yet only 10% of their time indoors when the temperature was below this value. Although postural changes have been reported in wild colobus, the postural and other behavioral changes observed in the current study occurred at temperatures lower than expected based on the published thermoneutral zone of colobus monkeys and highlight the importance of considering the specific thermoregulatory responses of zoo animals. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nutritional and health status of woolly monkeys

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ange-van Heugten, K.D.; Timmer, S.; Jansen, W.L.; Verstegen, M.W.A.

2008-01-01

Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha and L. flavicauda) are threatened species in the wild and in captivity. Numerous zoological institutions have historically kept Lagothrix lagotricha spp., but only a few of them have succeeded in breeding populations. Therefore the majority of institutions that

The effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Kirsten R; Mikkelsen, L F; Hau, J

2010-01-01

The authors provided different forms of environmental enrichment to six old laboratory male tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and studied the behavior of the monkeys during a baseline period and during three enrichment periods. Each observation period lasted 5 d, with an interval of 6 d...... between periods. During the first enrichment period, the authors provided Buster cubes and wood cylinders with drilled holes filled with gum arabic. During the second enrichment period, monkeys were provided with a deep litter of bark shavings, and during the third enrichment period, they were given...... Buster cubes, wood cylinders and bark shavings. When provided with enrichment, the monkeys engaged in natural, species-specific activities and began to exhibit behavioral profiles that more closely resembled those of their natural counterparts. This suggests that their psychological well-being had...

Pharmacokinetics and immunogenicity investigation of a human anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibody in non-naïve cynomolgus monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Chao; Gunn, George R; Marini, Joseph C; Shankar, Gopi; Han Hsu, Helen; Davis, Hugh M

2015-05-01

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of biologic therapeutics, especially monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), in monkeys generally presents the most relevant predictive PK information for humans. However, human mAbs, xenogeneic proteins to monkeys, are likely to be immunogenic. Monkeys previously treated with a human mAb (non-naïve) may have developed antidrug antibodies (ADAs) that cross-react with another test mAb in subsequent studies. Unlike PK studies for small-molecule therapeutics, in which animals may be reused, naïve monkeys have been used almost exclusively for preclinical PK studies of biologic therapeutics to avoid potential pre-existing immunologic cross-reactivity issues. The propensity and extent of pre-existing ADAs have not been systematically investigated to date. In this study, the PK and immunogenicity of mAb A, a human anti-human interkeukin-17 mAb, were investigated in a colony of 31 cynomolgus monkeys previously exposed to other human mAbs against different targets. We screened the monkeys for pre-existing antibodies to mAb A prior to the PK study and showed that 44% of the monkeys had pre-existing cross-reactive antibodies to mAb A, which could affect the PK characterization of the antibody. In the subcolony of monkeys without measurable pre-existing ADAs, PK and immunogenicity of mAb A were successfully characterized. The impact of ADAs on mAb A PK was also demonstrated in the monkeys with pre-existing ADAs. Here we report the results and propose a pragmatic approach for the use of non-naïve monkeys when conducting PK studies of biologic therapeutics. Copyright © 2015 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Electrical stimulation of superior colliculus affects strabismus angle in monkey models for strabismus

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyaya, Suraj; Meng, Hui

2017-01-01

Disruption of binocular vision during the critical period for development leads to eye misalignment in humans and in monkey models. We have previously suggested that disruption within a vergence circuit could be the neural basis for strabismus. Electrical stimulation in the rostral superior colliculus (rSC) leads to vergence eye movements in normal monkeys. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SC stimulation on eye misalignment in strabismic monkeys. Electrical stimulation was delivered to 51 sites in the intermediate and deep layers of the SC (400 Hz, 0.5-s duration, 10–40 μA) in 3 adult optical prism-reared strabismic monkeys. Scleral search coils were used to measure movements of both eyes during a fixation task. Staircase saccades with horizontal and vertical components were elicited by stimulation as predicted from the SC topographic map. Electrical stimulation also resulted in significant changes in horizontal strabismus angle, i.e., a shift toward exotropia/esotropia depending on stimulation site. Electrically evoked saccade vector amplitude in the two eyes was not significantly different (P > 0.05; paired t-test) but saccade direction differed. However, saccade disconjugacy accounted for only ~50% of the change in horizontal misalignment while disconjugate postsaccadic movements accounted for the other ~50% of the change in misalignment due to electrical stimulation. In summary, our data suggest that electrical stimulation of the SC of strabismic monkeys produces a change in horizontal eye alignment that is due to a combination of disconjugate saccadic eye movements and disconjugate postsaccadic movements. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Electrical stimulation of the superior colliculus in strabismic monkeys results in a change in eye misalignment. These data support the notion of developmental disruption of vergence circuits leading to maintenance of eye misalignment in strabismus. PMID:28031397

Homogeneous antibodies in lethally irradiated and autologous bone marrow reconstituted Rhesus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, P. Van Den; Radl, J.; Loewenberg, B.; Swart, A.C.W.

1976-01-01

Ten Rhesus monkeys were lethally irradiated and reconstituted with autologous bone marrow. During the restoration period, the animals were immunized with DNP-Rhesus albumin and IgA1lambda-10S human paraprotein. One or more transient homogenous immunoglobulin components appeared in sera of all experimental monkeys. In four animals, these homogeneous immunoglobulins were shown to be specific antibodies against DNP-Rhesus albumin. They gradually became as heterogeneous as those in control monkeys which were immunized but not irradiated and transplanted. The onset of the specific antibody response after immunization was slightly delayed in the experimental group. On determining the time necessary to reach normalization of the overall immunoglobulin levels and the normal heterogeneity of the immunoglobulin spectrum, it was found to be more than 1 year in most of the animals. (author)

Spatial Attention and Temporal Expectation Under Timed Uncertainty Predictably Modulate Neuronal Responses in Monkey V1

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Jitendra; Sugihara, Hiroki; Katz, Yarden; Schummers, James; Tenenbaum, Joshua; Sur, Mriganka

2015-01-01

The brain uses attention and expectation as flexible devices for optimizing behavioral responses associated with expected but unpredictably timed events. The neural bases of attention and expectation are thought to engage higher cognitive loci; however, their influence at the level of primary visual cortex (V1) remains unknown. Here, we asked whether single-neuron responses in monkey V1 were influenced by an attention task of unpredictable duration. Monkeys covertly attended to a spot that remained unchanged for a fixed period and then abruptly disappeared at variable times, prompting a lever release for reward. We show that monkeys responded progressively faster and performed better as the trial duration increased. Neural responses also followed monkey's task engagement—there was an early, but short duration, response facilitation, followed by a late but sustained increase during the time monkeys expected the attention spot to disappear. This late attentional modulation was significantly and negatively correlated with the reaction time and was well explained by a modified hazard function. Such bimodal, time-dependent changes were, however, absent in a task that did not require explicit attentional engagement. Thus, V1 neurons carry reliable signals of attention and temporal expectation that correlate with predictable influences on monkeys' behavioral responses. PMID:24836689

Proliferation of granule cell precursors in the dentate gyrus of adult monkeys is diminished by stress

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Elizabeth; Tanapat, Patima; McEwen, Bruce S.; Flügge, Gabriele; Fuchs, Eberhard

1998-01-01

Although granule cells continue to be added to the dentate gyrus of adult rats and tree shrews, this phenomenon has not been demonstrated in the dentate gyrus of adult primates. To determine whether neurons are produced in the dentate gyrus of adult primates, adult marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) were injected with BrdU and perfused 2 hr or 3 weeks later. BrdU is a thymidine analog that is incorporated into proliferating cells during S phase. A substantial number of cells in the dentate gyrus of adult monkeys incorporated BrdU and ≈80% of these cells had morphological characteristics of granule neurons and expressed a neuronal marker by the 3-week time point. Previous studies suggest that the proliferation of granule cell precursors in the adult dentate gyrus can be inhibited by stress in rats and tree shrews. To test whether an aversive experience has a similar effect on cell proliferation in the primate brain, adult marmoset monkeys were exposed to a resident-intruder model of stress. After 1 hr in this condition, the intruder monkeys were injected with BrdU and perfused 2 hr later. The number of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus of the intruder monkeys was compared with that of unstressed control monkeys. We found that a single exposure to this stressful experience resulted in a significant reduction in the number of these proliferating cells. Our results suggest that neurons are produced in the dentate gyrus of adult monkeys and that the rate of precursor cell proliferation can be affected by a stressful experience. PMID:9501234

Thermoregulatory Responses of Febrile Monkeys During Microwave Exposure

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Adair, E

1997-01-01

.... In a controlled ambient temperature of 26 degrees C, autonomic mechanisms of heat production and heat loss were measured in febrile squirrel monkeys during 30-min exposures to 450 or 2450 MHz CW MW...

Pentatrichomonas hominis: prevalence and molecular characterization in humans, dogs, and monkeys in Northern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wen-Chao; Ying, Meng; Gong, Peng-Tao; Li, Jian-Hua; Yang, Ju; Li, He; Zhang, Xi-Chen

2016-02-01

Pentatrichomonas hominis is an anaerobic amitochondrial flagellated protist that primarily colonizes the large intestines of a number of species, including cats, dogs, nonhuman primates, and humans. The prevalence of this parasite in dogs, monkeys, and humans is, however, poorly understood. In this study, a total of 362 fecal samples including 252 dogs, 60 monkeys, and 50 humans from northern China were collected for an epidemiological survey of P. hominis infection.The average prevalence of P. hominis infection determined by nested PCR was 27.38% (69/252), 4.00% (2/50), and 46.67% (28/60) in dogs, humans, and monkeys, respectively. The prevalence was significantly higher in 6-month-old dogs (41.53%) and children (7.69%) than in older dogs (14.39%) and adults (0%) (P dogs, monkeys, and humans, especially in children and young dogs. Given the infection prevalence, P. hominis may pose a risk of zoonotic and anthroponotic transmission.

Pharmacokinetics of bisphenol A in neonatal and adult rhesus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doerge, Daniel R.; Twaddle, Nathan C.; Woodling, Kellie A.; Fisher, Jeffrey W.

2010-01-01

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production volume industrial chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic products and epoxy resin-based food can liners. The presence of BPA in urine of > 90% of Americans aged 6-60 is controversial because of the potential for endocrine disruption, particularly during perinatal development, as suggested by in vitro, experimental animal, and epidemiological studies. The current study used LC/MS/MS to measure serum pharmacokinetics of aglycone (active) and conjugated (inactive) BPA in adult and neonatal rhesus monkeys by oral (PND 5, 35, 70) and intravenous injection (PND 77) routes using d6-BPA to avoid sample contamination. The concentration-time profiles observed in adult monkeys following oral administration of 100 μg/kg bw were remarkably similar to those previously reported in human volunteers given a similar dose; moreover, minimal pharmacokinetic differences were observed between neonatal and adult monkeys for the receptor-active aglycone form of BPA. Circulating concentrations of BPA aglycone were quite low following oral administration (< 1% of total), which reflects the redundancy of active UDP-glucuronosyl transferase isoforms in both gut and liver. No age-related changes were seen in internal exposure metrics for aglycone BPA in monkeys, a result clearly different from developing rats where significant inverse age-related changes, based on immaturity of Phase II metabolism and renal excretion, were recently reported. These observations imply that any toxicological effect observed in rats from early postnatal exposures to BPA could over-predict those possible in primates of the same age, based on significantly higher internal exposures and overall immaturity at birth.

Habitat quality of the woolly spider monkey (Brachyteles hypoxanthus).

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva Júnior, Wilson Marcelo; Alves Meira-Neto, João Augusto; da Silva Carmo, Flávia Maria; Rodrigues de Melo, Fabiano; Santana Moreira, Leandro; Ferreira Barbosa, Elaine; Dias, Luiz Gustavo; da Silva Peres, Carlos Augusto

2009-01-01

This study examines how habitat structure affects the home range use of a group of Brachyteles hypoxanthus in the Brigadeiro State Park, Brazil. It has been reported that most of the annual feeding time of woolly spider monkeys is spent eating leaves, but they prefer fruits when available. We hypothesise that the protein-to-fibre ratio (PF; best descriptor of habitat quality for folivorous primates) is a better descriptor of habitat quality and abundance for these primates than the structural attributes of forests (basal area is the best descriptor of habitat quality for frugivorous primates of Africa and Asia). We evaluated plant community structure, successional status, and PF of leaf samples from the dominant tree populations, both within the core and from a non-core area of the home range of our study group. Forest structure was a combination of stem density and basal area of dominant tree populations. The core area had larger trees, a higher forest basal area, and higher stem density than the non-core area. Mean PF did not differ significantly between these sites, although PF was influenced by differences in tree regeneration guilds. Large-bodied monkeys could be favoured by later successional stages of forests because larger trees and denser stems prevent the need for a higher expenditure of energy for locomotion as a consequence of vertical travel when the crowns of trees are disconnected in early successional forests. Forest structure variables (such as basal area of trees) driven by succession influence woolly spider monkey abundance in a fashion similar to frugivorous monkeys of Asia and Africa, and could explain marked differences in ranging behaviour and home range use by B. hypoxanthus. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Fast optical signal not detected in awake behaving monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Radhakrishnan, Harsha; Vanduffel, Wim; Deng, Hong Ping; Ekstrom, Leeland; Boas, David A; Franceschini, Maria Angela

2009-04-01

While the ability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure cerebral hemodynamic evoked responses (slow optical signal) is well established, its ability to measure non-invasively the 'fast optical signal' is still controversial. Here, we aim to determine the feasibility of performing NIRS measurements of the 'fast optical signal' or Event-Related Optical Signals (EROS) under optimal experimental conditions in awake behaving macaque monkeys. These monkeys were implanted with a 'recording well' to expose the dura above the primary visual cortex (V1). A custom-made optical probe was inserted and fixed into the well. The close proximity of the probe to the brain maximized the sensitivity to changes in optical properties in the cortex. Motion artifacts were minimized by physical restraint of the head. Full-field contrast-reversing checkerboard stimuli were presented to monkeys trained to perform a visual fixation task. In separate sessions, two NIRS systems (CW4 and ISS FD oximeter), which previously showed the ability to measure the fast signal in human, were used. In some sessions EEG was acquired simultaneously with the optical signal. The increased sensitivity to cortical optical changes with our experimental setup was quantified with 3D Monte Carlo simulations on a segmented MRI monkey head. Averages of thousands of stimuli in the same animal, or grand averages across the two animals and across repeated sessions, did not lead to detection of the fast optical signal using either amplitude or phase of the optical signal. Hemodynamic responses and visual evoked potentials were instead always detected with single trials or averages of a few stimuli. Based on these negative results, despite the optimal experimental conditions, we doubt the usefulness of non-invasive fast optical signal measurements with NIRS.

A deficit in face-voice integration in developing vervet monkeys exposed to ethanol during gestation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahin Zangenehpour

Full Text Available Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders display behavioural and intellectual impairments that strongly implicate dysfunction within the frontal cortex. Deficits in social behaviour and cognition are amongst the most pervasive outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure. Our naturalistic vervet monkey model of fetal alcohol exposure (FAE provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the neurobehavioral outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure in a controlled experimental setting. Recent work has revealed a significant reduction of the neuronal population in the frontal lobes of these monkeys. We used an intersensory matching procedure to investigate audiovisual perception of socially relevant stimuli in young FAE vervet monkeys. Here we show a domain-specific deficit in audiovisual integration of socially relevant stimuli. When FAE monkeys were shown a pair of side-by-side videos of a monkey concurrently presenting two different calls along with a single audio track matching the content of one of the calls, they were not able to match the correct video to the single audio track. This was manifest by their average looking time being equally spent towards both the matching and non-matching videos. However, a group of normally developing monkeys exhibited a significant preference for the non-matching video. This inability to integrate and thereby discriminate audiovisual stimuli was confined to the integration of faces and voices as revealed by the monkeys' ability to match a dynamic face to a complex tone or a black-and-white checkerboard to a pure tone, presumably based on duration and/or onset-offset synchrony. Together, these results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure negatively affects a specific domain of audiovisual integration. This deficit is confined to the integration of information that is presented by the face and the voice and does not affect more elementary aspects of sensory integration.

The influence of social structure on social isolation in amphetamine-treated Java monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Science.gov (United States)

Knobbout, D.A.; Ellenbroek, B.A.; Cools, A.R.

1996-10-01

Amphetamine-induced social isolation in monkeys has often been considered a valid animal model for certain negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, there appear to be many ambiguities in relation to the exact nature of the isolation. Therefore, the effect of orally administered amphetamine (AMP) on the occurrence of social isolation in Java monkeys was studied. In part I the rank dependency of the effects of AMP (0.5mg/kg) was investigated in four alpha-males and three beta-males. AMP increased 'proximity' and 'passive groom', and decreased 'active allogroom' in alpha-males. In contrast, AMP decreased all three behavioural elements to a certain extent in beta-males. It is concluded that AMP induces social isolation in beta-males, but not in alpha-males. In part II of this study the AMP-induced behaviour of the treated monkey and the simultaneously occurring changes in the non-treated monkeys were investigated in a detailed study of a single social group. AMP significantly reduced the frequency of 'exploration', 'locomotion', 'self-groom', 'swing', 'active groom', 'inspect', 'approach' and originally-present stereotypies. Thus AMP apparently reduces the ability to initiate behaviour which is characteristic for the adult animal. AMP did not affect the frequency of 'present' and 'play' and enhanced that of 'aggression' and 'fear' in the beta-male; it also elicited various juvenile-like behaviours in both alpha- and beta-males, suggesting that AMP induces a behavioural regression. Furthermore, the behaviour of the non-treated monkeys of the group was decisive for the occurrence of social isolation of the treated monkey. Thus, the effects of AMP on the social behaviour of Java monkeys depend on the individual sensitivity, the social position which the subject occupies in its group, and the behaviour of the partners of the treated subject.

A deficit in face-voice integration in developing vervet monkeys exposed to ethanol during gestation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zangenehpour, Shahin; Javadi, Pasha; Ervin, Frank R; Palmour, Roberta M; Ptito, Maurice

2014-01-01

Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders display behavioural and intellectual impairments that strongly implicate dysfunction within the frontal cortex. Deficits in social behaviour and cognition are amongst the most pervasive outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure. Our naturalistic vervet monkey model of fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the neurobehavioral outcomes of prenatal ethanol exposure in a controlled experimental setting. Recent work has revealed a significant reduction of the neuronal population in the frontal lobes of these monkeys. We used an intersensory matching procedure to investigate audiovisual perception of socially relevant stimuli in young FAE vervet monkeys. Here we show a domain-specific deficit in audiovisual integration of socially relevant stimuli. When FAE monkeys were shown a pair of side-by-side videos of a monkey concurrently presenting two different calls along with a single audio track matching the content of one of the calls, they were not able to match the correct video to the single audio track. This was manifest by their average looking time being equally spent towards both the matching and non-matching videos. However, a group of normally developing monkeys exhibited a significant preference for the non-matching video. This inability to integrate and thereby discriminate audiovisual stimuli was confined to the integration of faces and voices as revealed by the monkeys' ability to match a dynamic face to a complex tone or a black-and-white checkerboard to a pure tone, presumably based on duration and/or onset-offset synchrony. Together, these results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure negatively affects a specific domain of audiovisual integration. This deficit is confined to the integration of information that is presented by the face and the voice and does not affect more elementary aspects of sensory integration.

Canine distemper virus isolated from a monkey efficiently replicates on Vero cells expressing non-human primate SLAM receptors but not human SLAM receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Na; Liu, Yuxiu; Wang, Jianzhong; Xu, Weiwei; Li, Tiansong; Wang, Tiecheng; Wang, Lei; Yu, Yicong; Wang, Hualei; Zhao, Yongkun; Yang, Songtao; Gao, Yuwei; Hu, Guixue; Xia, Xianzhu

2016-08-02

In 2008, an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) infection in monkeys was reported in China. We isolated CDV strain (subsequently named Monkey-BJ01-DV) from lung tissue obtained from a rhesus monkey that died in this outbreak. We evaluated the ability of this virus on Vero cells expressing SLAM receptors from dog, monkey and human origin, and analyzed the H gene of Monkey-BJ01-DV with other strains. The Monkey-BJ01-DV isolate replicated to the highest titer on Vero cells expressing dog-origin SLAM (10(5.2±0.2) TCID50/ml) and monkey-origin SLAM (10(5.4±0.1) TCID50/ml), but achieved markedly lower titers on human-origin SLAM cells (10(3.3±0.3) TCID50/ml). Phylogenetic analysis of the full-length H gene showed that Monkey-BJ01-DV was highly related to other CDV strains obtained during recent CDV epidemics among species of the Canidae family in China, and these Monkey strains CDV (Monkey-BJ01-DV, CYN07-dV, Monkey-KM-01) possessed a number of amino acid specific substitutions (E276V, Q392R, D435Y and I542F) compared to the H protein of CDV epidemic in other animals at the same period. Our results suggested that the monkey origin-CDV-H protein could possess specific substitutions to adapt to the new host. Monkey-BJ01-DV can efficiently use monkey- and dog-origin SLAM to infect and replicate in host cells, but further adaptation may be required for efficient replication in host cells expressing the human SLAM receptor.

Phenobarbital treatments lower DDT body burden in rhesus monkeys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferguson, P.W.; Clark, C.R.; Gee, S.J.; Krieger, R.I.

1981-01-01

Decreased DDT, DDD, DDE in blood and DDA in urine followed phenobarbital treatments (10 mg/kg/day, 11 days, intramuscular (im)) in three male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Animals were fed DDT diets containing up to 500 ppm DDT during a 3-year period. Induction of liver monooxygenases was confirmed by reduced in vivo antipyrine plasma half-life and increased in vitro oxidation rates of dihydroisodrin, p-nitroanisole and benz(alpha)pyrene by homogenates of liver obtained from closed needle biopsy. Chlorohydrocarbon blood levels significantly decreased during the induction period (days 1-11). Concentrations on day 28 were at or below pre-DDT exposure levels. Urine DDA gradually decreased in all monkeys from days 16 to 28.

Subarachnoid administration of iohexol in cynomolgus monkeys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drobeck, H.P.; Mayes, B.A.; Barbolt, T.A.; Fabian, R.J.; Kimball, J.P.; Slighter, R.R. Jr.

1986-01-01

A non-ionic diagnostic medium, iohexol, was administered by subarachnoid injection to groups of six cynomolgus monkeys and compared with the vehicle, physiologically normal saline, and/or saline of equal osmolality to determine its potential for increasing total protein and leucocyte levels in cerebrospinal fluid. Also investigated was the effect of repeated spinal taps not subsequently followed by the intrathecal injection of test or control articles. In the monkey, unlike man, low-level leucocyte counts were consistently observed following initial withdrawal of spinal fluid. Elevated leucocyte and total protein levels were observed in the present investigations one day to a week after intrathecal injection of radiopaque, vehicle or saline solution. Total protein returned to normal levels earlier than did leucocyte counts. However, repeated needle puncture alone was found to be sufficient to cause an elevation of leucocytes 3 to 4 times the baseline level, while inflammatory effects were observed histologically only when autopsy was performed soon after the final spinal tap. (orig.)

Capuchin monkeys do not show human-like pricing effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rhia eCatapano

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Recent work in judgment and decision-making has shown that a good’s price can have irrational effects on people’s preferences. People tend to prefer goods that cost more money and assume that such expensive goods will be more effective, even in cases where the price of the good is itself arbitrary. Although much work has documented the existence of these pricing effects, unfortunately little work has addressed where these price effects come from in the first place. Here we use a comparative approach to distinguish between different accounts of this bias and to explore the origins of these effects. Specifically, we test whether brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella are also susceptible to pricing effects within the context of an experimentally trained token economy. Using a capuchin population previously trained in a token market, we explored whether monkeys used price as an indicator of value across four experiments. Although monkeys demonstrated an understanding of which goods had which prices (consistently shifting preferences to cheaper goods when prices were increased, we observed no evidence that such price information affected their valuation of different kinds of goods. These results suggest that human price effects may involve more sophisticated human-unique cognitive capacities, such as an understanding of market forces and signaling.

Capuchin monkeys do not show human-like pricing effects

Science.gov (United States)

Catapano, Rhia; Buttrick, Nicholas; Widness, Jane; Goldstein, Robin; Santos, Laurie R.

2014-01-01

Recent work in judgment and decision-making has shown that a good's price can have irrational effects on people's preferences. People tend to prefer goods that cost more money and assume that such expensive goods will be more effective, even in cases where the price of the good is itself arbitrary. Although much work has documented the existence of these pricing effects, unfortunately little work has addressed where these price effects come from in the first place. Here we use a comparative approach to distinguish between different accounts of this bias and to explore the origins of these effects. Specifically, we test whether brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are also susceptible to pricing effects within the context of an experimentally trained token economy. Using a capuchin population previously trained in a token market, we explored whether monkeys used price as an indicator of value across four experiments. Although monkeys demonstrated an understanding of which goods had which prices (consistently shifting preferences to cheaper goods when prices were increased), we observed no evidence that such price information affected their valuation of different kinds of goods. These results suggest that human pricing effects may involve more sophisticated human-unique cognitive capacities, such as an understanding of market forces and signaling. PMID:25520677

Capuchin monkeys do not show human-like pricing effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Catapano, Rhia; Buttrick, Nicholas; Widness, Jane; Goldstein, Robin; Santos, Laurie R

2014-01-01

Recent work in judgment and decision-making has shown that a good's price can have irrational effects on people's preferences. People tend to prefer goods that cost more money and assume that such expensive goods will be more effective, even in cases where the price of the good is itself arbitrary. Although much work has documented the existence of these pricing effects, unfortunately little work has addressed where these price effects come from in the first place. Here we use a comparative approach to distinguish between different accounts of this bias and to explore the origins of these effects. Specifically, we test whether brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are also susceptible to pricing effects within the context of an experimentally trained token economy. Using a capuchin population previously trained in a token market, we explored whether monkeys used price as an indicator of value across four experiments. Although monkeys demonstrated an understanding of which goods had which prices (consistently shifting preferences to cheaper goods when prices were increased), we observed no evidence that such price information affected their valuation of different kinds of goods. These results suggest that human pricing effects may involve more sophisticated human-unique cognitive capacities, such as an understanding of market forces and signaling.

Timing of births in sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus).

Science.gov (United States)

Strier, K B; Mendes, S L; Santos, R R

2001-10-01

We monitored the birth patterns of sympatric brown howler monkeys (Alouatta fusca clamitans) and northern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides hypoxanthus) during a 4-yr period from October 1996 to August 2000 at the Estação Biológica de Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Brown howler monkey births (n = 34) occurred throughout the year, and birth frequencies did not differ between rainy and dry season months. The aseasonal birth patterns of the howler monkeys differed significantly from the dry season concentration and dry month peak in muriqui births (n = 23). We found no effects of infant sex or the number of females on interbirth intervals (IBIs) in our 10 howler monkey study troops. IBIs of brown howler monkeys averaged 21.2 +/- 2.5 mo (n = 8, median = 21.0 mo), and were significantly shorter following dry season births than rainy season births. Their IBIs and yearling survivorship (74%) were similar to those reported for other species of howler monkeys, but yearling survivorship was much lower than that of muriquis (94%), whose IBIs were more than 12 mo longer than those of the howler monkeys. Our study extends comparative knowledge of birth patterns in Alouatta to a poorly known species, and provides insights into the different ways in which diet and life history may affect the timing of births in large-bodied platyrrhines under the same seasonal ecological conditions. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Nature of the Refractive Errors in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with Experimentally Induced Ametropias

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao-Grider, Ying; Hung, Li-Fang; Kee, Chea-su; Ramamirtham, Ramkumar; Smith, Earl L.

2010-01-01

We analyzed the contribution of individual ocular components to vision-induced ametropias in 210 rhesus monkeys. The primary contribution to refractive-error development came from vitreous chamber depth; a minor contribution from corneal power was also detected. However, there was no systematic relationship between refractive error and anterior chamber depth or between refractive error and any crystalline lens parameter. Our results are in good agreement with previous studies in humans, suggesting that the refractive errors commonly observed in humans are created by vision-dependent mechanisms that are similar to those operating in monkeys. This concordance emphasizes the applicability of rhesus monkeys in refractive-error studies. PMID:20600237

Modified Monkey Optimization Algorithm for Solving Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanagasabai Lenin

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a novel approach Modified Monkey optimization (MMO algorithm for solving optimal reactive power dispatch problem has been presented. MMO is a population based stochastic meta-heuristic algorithm and it is inspired by intelligent foraging behaviour of monkeys. This paper improves both local leader and global leader phases.  The proposed (MMO algorithm has been tested in standard IEEE 30 bus test system and simulation results show the worthy performance of the proposed algorithm in reducing the real power loss.

Molecular cloning and characterization of rhesus monkey platelet glycoprotein Ibα, a major ligand-binding subunit of GPIb-IX-V complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, Jianlin; Shen, Yang; Shi, Meimei; Lu, Yanrong; Cheng, Jingqiu; Chen, Younan

2014-05-01

Through binding to von Willebrand factor (VWF), platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ibα, the major ligand-binding subunit of the GPIb-IX-V complex, initiates platelet adhesion and aggregation in response to exposed VWF or elevated fluid-shear stress. There is little data regarding non-human primate platelet GPIbα. This study cloned and characterized rhesus monkey (Macaca Mullatta) platelet GPIbα. DNAMAN software was used for sequence analysis and alignment. N/O-glycosylation sites and 3-D structure modelling were predicted by online OGPET v1.0, NetOGlyc 1.0 Server and SWISS-MODEL, respectively. Platelet function was evaluated by ADP- or ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation. Rhesus monkey GPIbα contains 2,268 nucleotides with an open reading frame encoding 755 amino acids. Rhesus monkey GPIbα nucleotide and protein sequences share 93.27% and 89.20% homology respectively, with human. Sequences encoding the leucine-rich repeats of rhesus monkey GPIbα share strong similarity with human, whereas PEST sequences and N/O-glycosylated residues vary. The GPIbα-binding residues for thrombin, filamin A and 14-3-3ζ are highly conserved between rhesus monkey and human. Platelet function analysis revealed monkey and human platelets respond similarly to ADP, but rhesus monkey platelets failed to respond to low doses of ristocetin where human platelets achieved 76% aggregation. However, monkey platelets aggregated in response to higher ristocetin doses. Monkey GPIbα shares strong homology with human GPIbα, however there are some differences in rhesus monkey platelet activation through GPIbα engagement, which need to be considered when using rhesus monkey platelet to investigate platelet GPIbα function. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance norms for a rhesus monkey neuropsychological testing battery: acquisition and long-term performance.

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Weed, M R; Taffe, M A; Polis, I; Roberts, A C; Robbins, T W; Koob, G F; Bloom, F E; Gold, L H

1999-10-25

A computerized behavioral battery based upon human neuropsychological tests (CANTAB, CeNeS, Cambridge, UK) has been developed to assess cognitive behaviors of rhesus monkeys. Monkeys reliably performed multiple tasks, providing long-term assessment of changes in a number of behaviors for a given animal. The overall goal of the test battery is to characterize changes in cognitive behaviors following central nervous system (CNS) manipulations. The battery addresses memory (delayed non-matching to sample, DNMS; spatial working memory, using a self-ordered spatial search task, SOSS), attention (intra-/extra-dimensional shift, ID/ED), motivation (progressive-ratio, PR), reaction time (RT) and motor coordination (bimanual task). As with human neuropsychological batteries, different tasks are thought to involve different neural substrates, and therefore performance profiles should assess function in particular brain regions. Monkeys were tested in transport cages, and responding on a touch sensitive computer monitor was maintained by food reinforcement. Parametric manipulations of several tasks demonstrated the sensitivity of performance to increases in task difficulty. Furthermore, the factors influencing difficulty for rhesus monkeys were the same as those shown to affect human performance. Data from this study represent performance of a population of healthy normal monkeys that will be used for comparison in subsequent studies of performance following CNS manipulations such as infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (NeuroAIDS) or drug administration.

Constancy and variability in cortical structure. A study on synapses and dendritic spines in hedgehog and monkey.

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Schüz, A; Demianenko, G P

1995-01-01

Synapses and dendritic spines were investigated in the parietal cortex of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and the monkey (Macaca mulatta). There was no significant difference in the density of synapses between the two species (14 synapses/100 microns2 in the hedgehog, 15/100 microns2 in the monkey), neither in the size of the synaptic junctions, in the proportion of Type I and Type II synapses (8-10% were of Type II in the hedgehog, 10-14% in the monkey) nor in the proportion of perforated synapses (8% in the hedgehog, 5% in the monkey). The only striking difference at the electron microscopic level concerned the frequency of synapses in which the postsynaptic profile was deeply indented into the presynaptic terminal. Such synapses were 10 times more frequent in the monkey. Dendritic spines were investigated in Golgi-preparations. The density of spines along dendrites was similar in both species. The results are discussed with regard to connectivity in the cortex of small and large brains.

Long-term blood glucose monitoring with implanted telemetry device in conscious and stress-free cynomolgus monkeys.

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Wang, B; Sun, G; Qiao, W; Liu, Y; Qiao, J; Ye, W; Wang, H; Wang, X; Lindquist, R; Wang, Y; Xiao, Y-F

2017-09-01

Continuous blood glucose monitoring, especially long-term and remote, in diabetic patients or research is very challenging. Nonhuman primate (NHP) is an excellent model for metabolic research, because NHPs can naturally develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) similarly to humans. This study was to investigate blood glucose changes in conscious, moving-free cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during circadian, meal, stress and drug exposure. Blood glucose, body temperature and physical activities were continuously and simultaneously recorded by implanted HD-XG telemetry device for up to 10 weeks. Blood glucose circadian changes in normoglycemic monkeys significantly differed from that in diabetic animals. Postprandial glucose increase was more obvious after afternoon feeding. Moving a monkey from its housing cage to monkey chair increased blood glucose by 30% in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Such increase in blood glucose declined to the pre-procedure level in 30 min in normoglycemic animals and >2 h in diabetic monkeys. Oral gavage procedure alone caused hyperglycemia in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Intravenous injection with the stress hormones, angiotensin II (2 μg/kg) or norepinephrine (0.4 μg/kg), also increased blood glucose level by 30%. The glucose levels measured by the telemetry system correlated significantly well with glucometer readings during glucose tolerance tests (ivGTT or oGTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT), graded glucose infusion (GGI) and clamp. Our data demonstrate that the real-time telemetry method is reliable for monitoring blood glucose remotely and continuously in conscious, stress-free, and moving-free NHPs with the advantages highly valuable to diabetes research and drug discovery.

Prevalence of antibody to adult T-cell leukemia virus-associated antigens (ATLA) in Japanese monkeys and other non-human primates.

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Hayami, M; Komuro, A; Nozawa, K; Shotake, T; Ishikawa, K; Yamamoto, K; Ishida, T; Honjo, S; Hinuma, Y

1984-02-15

The prevalence of adult T-cell-leukemia virus (ATLV) infection was examined in Japanese monkeys living naturally in various parts of Japan and in other species of non-human primates imported into and kept in Japan. Sera of 2,650 Japanese monkeys from 41 troops throughout Japan were tested. High incidences of anti-ATLV-associated antigen (ATLA)-positive monkeys were found in most troops, not only in the endemic area of human ATL(Southwestern Japan), but also in non-endemic areas. The incidence of sero-positive individuals increased gradually with age, reaching a maximum when the animals became adult, indicating age dependency, like that found by epidemiological studies on humans. Anti-ATLA antibodies were also detected in 90 of 815 sera of imported non-human primates of 33 species other than Japanese monkeys. All the anti-ATLA sero-positive monkeys were Catarrhines (Old World monkeys), mainly macaques of Asian origin. Some sero-positive monkeys were also found among animals of African origin, but no antibody was detected in Prosimians and Platyrrhines (New World monkeys). The clear-cut difference between the geographical distribution of sero-positive simians and that of humans indicates the improbability of direct transmission of ATLV from simians to humans.