Prey capture and meat-eating by the wild colobus monkey _Rhinopithecus bieti_ in Yunnan, China

If it is true that extant primates evolved from an insectivorous ancestor, then primate entomophagy would be a primitive trait. Many taxa, however, have undergone a dietary shift from entomophagy to phytophagy, evolving a specialised gut and dentition and becoming exclusive herbivores. The exclusively herbivorous taxa are the Malagasy families Indriidae and Lepilemuridae, and the Old World Monkey subfamily Colobinae, and among these meat-eating has not been observed except as an anomaly, with the sole exception of the Hanuman langur (_Semnopithecus entellus_), which feeds on insects seasonally, and a single observation of a nestling bird predated by wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (_Rhinopithecus roxellana_). Here, we describe the regular capture of warm-blooded animals and the eating of meat by a colobine, the critically endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (_Rhinopithecus bieti_). This monkey engages in scavenge hunting as a male-biased activity that may, in fact, be related to group structure and spatial spread. In this context, meat-eating can be regarded as an energy/nutrient maximization feeding strategy rather than as a consequence of any special characteristic of meat itself. The finding of meat-eating in forest-dwelling primates might provide new insights into the evolution of dietary habits in early humans

Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) in detection of _Bifidobacterium longum_ and _Clostridium novyi-NT_ labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticle

*Purpose:* To investigate the MR imaging of _Bifidobacterium longum_ and _Clostridium novyi-NT_ labeling with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles.

*Materials and methods:* Tubes containing _B. longum_-SPIO, Free-SPIO, _B. longum_ and PYG Medium were incubated under anaerobic condition in _in vitro_ experiment. Transmission electron microscope and Prussian blue staining were used to demonstrate intra-bacteria nanoparticles. R~2~^*^ mapping and R~2~ mapping were reconstructed after MR scanning. _B. longum_-SPIO and _C. novyi_-NT-SPIO were injected respectively _in vivo_ to show whether it might be traced by MR imaging.

*Results:* Magnetosomes in bacteria were observed by electron microscopic and stained by Prussian blue staining. At the same concentration of SPIOs, the R~2~^*^ value of _B. longum_-SPIO was significantly higher than that of Free-SPIO (P<0.001), however, the R~2~ value was lower comparing with Free-SPIO (P<0.001). After injection with _B. longum_-SPIO, they could present in tumor and shorten T~2~^*^.

*Conclusion:* _B. longum_ and _C. novyi_-NT could be labeled by SPIO and then traced by MRI

Evidence of Allomaternal Nursing across One-Male Units in the Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus Bieti)

BACKGROUND: Allomaternal nursing, common in several species of social mammals, also has been reported in nonhuman primates. However, the function of this behavior in enhancing infant survivorship remains poorly understood. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The study was conducted on a free-ranging group of the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) in the Baimaxueshan Natural Reserve. Direct observation and ad libitum sampling were used to record allocare behavior during a 20 month field study. R. bieti exhibits a multilevel social organization in which a large single troop, consisting of over 100 individuals, is divided into many one-male units (OMUs: 6∼41). These OMUs coordinate their daily activities, and feed, forage, travel, and rest together. Here we report on one case of infant temporary adoption in which an adult female from one OMU engaged in allomaternal nursing and cared for an infant from a different OMU of the same troop. This event began when the mother and her five-month-old infant were found to became separated accidentally. The victim infant was observed staying in another OMU. Over the next several days we observed a lactating female in the new OMU to care for and nurse both her infant and the immigrant infant, who also was tolerated by and cared for by the harem male. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that lactating primate females are primed to care for young infants and, that the misdirected parental care hypothesis may offer the strongest explanation for allomaternal nursing in R. bieti

Heterologous expression of a rice \u3ci\u3emiR395\u3c/i\u3e gene in \u3ci\u3eNicotiana tabacum\u3c/i\u3e impairs sulfate homeostasis

Sulfur participates in many important mechanisms and pathways of plant development. The most common source of sulfur in soil –SO42−– is absorbed into root tissue and distributed into aerial part through vasculature system, where it is reduced into sulfite and finally sulfide within the subcellular organs such as chloroplasts and mitochondria and used for cysteine and methionine biosynthesis. MicroRNAs are involved in many regulation pathways by repressing the expression of their target genes. MiR395 family in Arabidopsis thaliana has been reported to be an important regulator involved in sulfate transport and assimilation, and a high-affinity sulphate transporter and three ATP sulfurylases (ATPS) were the target genes of AthmiR395 (Arabidopsis thaliana miR395). We have cloned a miR395 gene from rice (Oryza sativa) and studied its function in plant nutritional response. Our results indicated that in rice, transcript level of OsamiR395 (Oryza sativa miR395) increased under sulfate deficiency conditions, and the two predicted target genes of miR395 were down-regulated under the same conditions. Overexpression of OsamiR395h in tobacco impaired its sulfate homeostasis, and sulfate distribution was also slightly impacted among leaves of different ages. One sulfate transporter (SULTR) gene NtaSULTR2 was identified to be the target of miR395 in Nicotiana tobacum, which belongs to low affinity sulfate transporter group. Both miR395 and NtaSULTR2 respond to sulfate starvation in tobacco

Choice of analytical method can have dramatic effects on primate home range estimates

Primate home range sizes can vary tremendously as a consequence of the analytical technique chosen to estimate home range. This is exemplified by a recent dataset on free ranging snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) in Northwest Yunnan, China. Our findings show that the grid cell method cannot substitute for the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method and vice versa. MCP-based estimates are far too large, especially when the form of the home range is irregular due to forays into peripheral areas. Here, we propose an adjusted polygon method, whereby unsuitable and never visited areas are clipped out from the polygon, thus producing more accurate results. Compared to the grid cell method, the adjusted MCP is much more robust when the number of group relocations is limited; MCP turned out to be the method of choice for calculation of monthly and seasonal home ranges. The grid cell method on the other hand yielded the most precise estimates for total or annual home ranges. The style of ranging exhibited by a given primate taxon or population determines which analytical procedures should be applied to estimate home range size, and we would stress the need for thorough evaluation of the pros and cons of home range estimators before conducting field work and analysing dat

Is there Two-Way Information Transmission between Stock Markets and Stock Discussion Boards?

This research investigates information transmissions between stock returns and abnormal posting volumes using a total of 1,031,206 messages posted on Chinese stock message boards. Based on a multivariable GARCH (1, 1) model and causality in variance test, the study shows that there are significant two-way volatility spillovers effects: a positive volatility spillover effect from stock returns to abnormal posting volume, and a negative volatility spillover effect from abnormal posting volume to stock returns. The information exchange and communication on stock message boards have a certain role to stabilize financial markets and to improve the investment rationale

Methods and compositions for enhanced resistance to abiotic stress in plants

The present invention provides transgenic plants having increased tolerance to abiotic stress comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule, said recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding miR319 operatively associated with a promoter, a nucleotide sequence that is antisense to a portion of consecutive nucleotides of a nucleotide sequence encoding PCF5, and/or a nucleotide sequence that encodes a portion of consecutive nucleotides of a nucleotide sequence encoding PCF5, which when expressed produces an antisense nucleotide sequence, wherein expression of the nucleotide sequence confers increased tolerance to abiotic stress. Also provided are methods and compositions for making said transgenic plants