Phonetische und korpus-linguistische Methoden bei der Analyse vokaler Kommunikation von freilebenden Schimpansen im Tai National Forest

Über die letzten Jahrzehnte haben sich unsere Kenntnisse über die vokalen Kommunikationssysteme bei Menschenaffen enorm erweitert und aber auch das Verständnis zur Evolution des Kommunikationssystems unserer eigenen Spezies stark gewandelt. Allein nur die Studien zur Kommunikation unter Schim- pansen haben gezeigt, dass es eine Reihe von gruppenspezifische und kontexts- pezifischen Lautäußerungen gibt. Es ist klar geworden, dass die Komplexität der Strukturen und ihrer kommunikativen wie sozialen Funktionen lange unterschätzt wurde und selbst auch die akustischen und artikulatorischen Vorgänge noch nicht vollständig verstanden sind. Die dramatische Abnahme der verbliebenen Popula- tionen ist allerdings wenig hilfreich und wirkt sich ebenso auf die Bedingungen für deren Erforschung und die Anforderung (z.B. an Software) an sie aus. Für diesen Beitrag werden anhand einer aktuellen Studie zu akustischen und artikulatorischen Charakteristika von Vokalisierungen bei freilebenden Schimpansen im Taï National Forest (Elfenbeinküste) grundlegende Probleme analysiert wie sie sich aus Sicht der Erforschung des Sprechens beim Menschen ergeben. Das vorgestellte Projekt fokussiert die individuelle und gruppenspezifische Ausprägung kontextsensitiver Laute unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der beobachtbaren oralen Artikulation. Hierbei möchten wir gerade die Desiderata im methodisch-technischen Bereich (Datenerhebung, Transkription und Annotation, akustische und artikulatorische Pa- rametrisierung von Audio und Video, Datenverwaltung) aufzeigen und versuchen Lösungsvorschläge zu unterbreiten, aber auch Hilfe in der Community suche

Chimpanzee vowel-like sounds and voice quality suggest formant space expansion through the hominoid lineage

The origins of human speech are obscure; it is still unclear what aspects are unique to our species or shared with our evolutionary cousins, in part due to a lack of common framework for comparison. We asked what chimpanzee and human vocal production acoustics have in common. We examined visible supra-laryngeal articulators of four major chimpanzee vocalizations (hoos, grunts, barks, screams) and their associated acoustic structures, using techniques from human phonetic and animal communication analysis. Data were collected from wild adult chimpanzees, Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Both discriminant and principal component classification procedures revealed classification of call types. Discriminating acoustic features include voice quality and formant structure, mirroring phonetic features in human speech. Chimpanzee lip and jaw articulation variables also offered similar discrimination of call types. Formant maps distinguished call types with different vowel-like sounds. Comparing our results with published primate data, humans show less F1–F2 correlation and further expansion of the vowel space, particularly for [i] sounds. Unlike recent studies suggesting monkeys achieve human vowel space, we conclude from our results that supra-laryngeal articulatory capacities show moderate evolutionary change, with vowel space expansion continuing through hominoid evolution. Studies on more primate species will be required to substantiate this.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)’

A detailed phenotypic analysis of immune cell populations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of atopic asthmatics after segmental allergen challenge

BACKGROUND: Atopic asthma is characterized by intermittent exacerbations triggered by exposure to allergen. Exacerbations are characterized by an acute inflammatory reaction in the airways, with recruitment of both innate and adaptive immune cells. These cell populations as well as soluble factors are critical for initiating and controlling the inflammatory processes in allergic asthma. Detailed data on the numbers and types of cells recruited following allergen challenge is lacking. In this paper we present an extensive phenotypic analysis of the inflammatory cell infiltrate present in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid following bronchoscopically directed allergen challenge in mild atopic asthmatics. METHODS: A re-analysis of pooled data obtained prior to intervention in our randomized, placebo controlled, double blinded study (costimulation inhibition in asthma trial [CIA]) was performed. Twenty-four subjects underwent bronchoscopically directed segmental allergen challenge followed by BAL collection 48 hours later. The BAL fluid was analyzed by multi-color flow cytometry for immune cell populations and multi-plex ELISA for cytokine detection. RESULTS: Allergen instillation induced pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6) and immune modulating cytokines (IL-2, IFN-γ, and IL-10) along with an increase in lymphocytes and suppressor cells (Tregs and MDSC). Interestingly, membrane expression of CD30 was identified on lymphocytes, especially Tregs, but not eosinophils. Soluble CD30 was also detected in the BAL fluid after allergen challenge in adult atopic asthmatics. CONCLUSIONS: After segmental allergen challenge of adult atopic asthmatics, cell types associated with a pro-inflammatory as well as an anti-inflammatory response are detected within the BAL fluid of the lung

Experimental field estimation of organic nitrogen formation in tree canopies

The content of organic N has been shown in many studies to increase during the passage of rain water through forest canopies. The source of this organic N is unknown, but generally assumed to come from canopy processing of wet or dry-deposited inorganic N. There have been very few experimental studies in the field to address the canopy formation or loss of organic N. We report two studies: a Scots pine canopy exposed to ammonia gas, and a Sitka spruce canopy exposed to ammonium and nitrate as wet deposition. In both cases, organic N deposition in throughfall was increased, but only represented a small fraction (<10%) of the additional inorganic N supplied, suggesting a limited capacity for net organic N production, similar in both conifer canopies under Scottish summertime conditions, of less than 1.6 mmol Nm2 mth1 (equivalent to 3 kg N ha1 y1)

Cyclin D mediates tolerance of genome-doubling in cancers with functional p53

BACKGROUND: Aneuploidy and chromosomal instability (CIN) are common features of human malignancy that fuel genetic heterogeneity. Although tolerance to tetraploidization, an intermediate state that further exacerbates CIN, is frequently mediated by TP53 dysfunction, we find that some genome-doubled tumours retain wild-type TP53. We sought to understand how tetraploid cells with a functional p53/p21-axis tolerate genome-doubling events. METHOD: We performed quantitative proteomics in a diploid/tetraploid pair within a system of multiple independently derived TP53 wild-type tetraploid clones arising spontaneously from a diploid progenitor. We characterized adapted and acute tetraploidization in a variety of flow cytometry and biochemical assays and tested our findings against human tumours through bioinformatics analysis of the TCGA dataset. RESULTS: Cyclin D1 was found to be specifically overexpressed in early but not late passage tetraploid clones, and this overexpression was sufficient to promote tolerance to spontaneous and pharmacologically induced tetraploidy. We provide evidence that this role extends to D-type cyclins and their overexpression confers specific proliferative advantage to tetraploid cells. We demonstrate that tetraploid clones exhibit elevated levels of functional p53 and p21 but override the p53/p21 checkpoint by elevated expression of cyclin D1, via a stoichiometry-dependent and CDK activity-independent mechanism. Tetraploid cells do not exhibit increased sensitivity to abemaciclib, suggesting that cyclin D-overexpressing tumours might not be specifically amenable to treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that D-type cyclin overexpression is an acute event, permissive for rapid adaptation to a genome-doubled state in TP53 wild-type tumours and that its overexpression is dispensable in later stages of tumour progression

The Exoplanet Orbit Database

We present a database of well determined orbital parameters of exoplanets. This database comprises spectroscopic orbital elements measured for 427 planets orbiting 363 stars from radial velocity and transit measurements as reported in the literature. We have also compiled fundamental transit parameters, stellar parameters, and the method used for the planets discovery. This Exoplanet Orbit Database includes all planets with robust, well measured orbital parameters reported in peer-reviewed articles. The database is available in a searchable, filterable, and sortable form on the Web at http://exoplanets.org through the Exoplanets Data Explorer Table, and the data can be plotted and explored through the Exoplanets Data Explorer Plotter. We use the Data Explorer to generate publication-ready plots giving three examples of the signatures of exoplanet migration and dynamical evolution: We illustrate the character of the apparent correlation between mass and period in exoplanet orbits, the selection different biases between radial velocity and transit surveys, and that the multiplanet systems show a distinct semi-major axis distribution from apparently singleton systems.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures (5 color), preprint style. Accepted to PASP v.2: includes changes suggested by referee, including important and corrections and clarification

Unique Arrangement of α- and β-Cells in Human Islets of Langerhans

OBJECTIVE: It is generally admitted that the endocrine cell organization in human islets is different from that of rodent islets. However, a clear description of human islet architecture has not yet been reported. The aim of this work was to describe our observations on the arrangement of human islet cells. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Human pancreas specimens and isolated islets were processed for histology. Sections were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy after immunostaining for islet hormones and endothelial cells. RESULTS: In small human islets (40-60 mum in diameter), beta-cells had a core position, alpha-cells had a mantle position, and vessels laid at their periphery. In bigger islets, alpha-cells had a similar mantle position but were found also along vessels that penetrate and branch inside the islets. As a consequence of this organization, the ratio of beta-cells to alpha-cells was constantly higher in the core than in the mantle part of the islets, and decreased with increasing islet diameter. This core-mantle segregation of islet cells was also observed in type 2 diabetic donors but not in cultured isolated islets. Three-dimensional analysis revealed that islet cells were in fact organized into trilaminar epithelial plates, folded with different degrees of complexity and bordered by vessels on both sides. In epithelial plates, most beta-cells were located in a central position but frequently showed cytoplasmic extensions between outlying non-beta-cells. CONCLUSIONS: Human islets have a unique architecture allowing all endocrine cells to be adjacent to blood vessels and favoring heterologous contacts between beta- and alpha-cells, while permitting homologous contacts between beta-cells