Distal communication by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): evidence for common ground?

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

Mutational Correlates of Virological Failure in Individuals Receiving a WHO-Recommended Tenofovir-Containing First-Line Regimen: An International Collaboration.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) genotypic resistance defined by K65R/N and/or K70E/Q/G occurs in 20% to 60% of individuals with virological failure (VF) on a WHO-recommended TDF-containing first-line regimen. However, the full spectrum of reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations selected in individuals with VF on such a regimen is not known. To identify TDF regimen-associated mutations (TRAMs), we compared the proportion of each RT mutation in 2873 individuals with VF on a WHO-recommended first-line TDF-containing regimen to its proportion in a cohort of 50,803 antiretroviral-naïve individuals. To identify TRAMs specifically associated with TDF-selection pressure, we compared the proportion of each TRAM to its proportion in a cohort of 5805 individuals with VF on a first-line thymidine analog-containing regimen. We identified 83 TRAMs including 33 NRTI-associated, 40 NNRTI-associated, and 10 uncommon mutations of uncertain provenance. Of the 33 NRTI-associated TRAMs, 12 - A62V, K65R/N, S68G/N/D, K70E/Q/T, L74I, V75L, and Y115F - were more common among individuals receiving a first-line TDF-containing compared to a first-line thymidine analog-containing regimen. These 12 TDF-selected TRAMs will be important for monitoring TDF-associated transmitted drug-resistance and for determining the extent of reduced TDF susceptibility in individuals with VF on a TDF-containing regimen

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) do not develop contingent reciprocity in an experimental task

Chimpanzees provide help to unrelated individuals in a broad range of situations. The pattern of helping within pairs suggests that contingent reciprocity may have been an important mechanism in the evolution of altruism in chimpanzees. However, correlational analyses of the cumulative pattern of interactions over time do not demonstrate that helping is contingent upon previous acts of altruism, as required by the theory of reciprocal altruism. Experimental studies provide a controlled approach to examine the importance of contingency in helping interactions. In this study, we evaluated whether chimpanzees would be more likely to provide food to a social partner from their home group if their partner had previously provided food for them. The chimpanzees manipulated a barpull apparatus in which actors could deliver rewards either to themselves and their partners or only to themselves. Our findings indicate that the chimpanzees’ responses were not consistently influenced by the behavior of their partners in previous rounds. Only one of the 11 dyads that we tested demonstrated positive reciprocity. We conclude that contingent reciprocity does not spontaneously arise in experimental settings, despite the fact that patterns of behavior in the field indicate that individuals cooperate preferentially with reciprocating partners

Recent developments in the US capital markets

The US capital markets are in the process of undergoing significant structural changes. Regulation NMS will more tightly interweave the national market system ; the recently announced transactions by The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange portend greater consolidation of trading markets in the United States ; NASD’s facility for reporting transactions in the corporate debt market raises issues concerning greater transparency and best execution in that market ; and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent proposals on self-regulation will potentially change the governance process of self-regulatory organizations (SROs), require more on-going accountability in the discharge of an SRO’s regulatory responsibilities, and raise issues concerning the proper roles of commercial markets and regulation. This paper seeks to present an overview of these recent events. JEL classification : G18, G28Schapiro Mary L. Recent developments in the US capital markets . In: Revue d'économie financière (English ed.), n°82, 2006. The future of financial exchanges. pp. 27-37

Changements récents observés sur les marchés de capitaux aux États-Unis

Recent developments in the US capital markets The US capital markets are in the process of undergoing significant structural changes. Regulation NMS will more tightly interweave the national market system ; the recently announced transactions by The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange portend greater consolidation of trading markets in the United States ; NASD’s facility for reporting transactions in the corporate debt market raises issues concerning greater transparency and best execution in that market ; and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent proposals on self-regulation will potentially change the governance process of self-regulatory organizations (SROs), require more on-going accountability in the discharge of an SRO’s regulatory responsibilities, and raise issues concerning the proper roles of commercial markets and regulation. This paper seeks to present an overview of these recent events. JEL classification : G18, G28Les marchés de capitaux américains connaissent d’importants changements structurels. Le règlement Regulation NMS impliquera d’entrelacer plus étroitement les différentes composantes du système. Les transactions annoncées par le Nasdaq et le NYSE laissent présager une concentration des places financières. Le système de reporting des transactions dont dispose le NASD sur le marché des obligations corporate soulève des questions sur une plus grande transparence et une meilleure exécution des ordres sur ce marché. Par ailleurs, les propositions en matière d’auto-réglementation de la SEC, pourraient modifier le processus de gouvernance des organismes d’auto-réglementation (OAR), exiger une plus grande responsabilité lors de l’exercice des attributions de réglementation d’un OAR, et soulèvent des questions concernant les rôles dûment dévolus à la réglementation et aux marchés commerciaux. Cet article tente de présenter un aperçu de ces récents événements. Classification JEL : G18, G28Schapiro Mary L. Changements récents observés sur les marchés de capitaux aux États-Unis . In: Revue d'économie financière, n°82, 2006. Le devenir des Bourses de valeurs, sous la direction de Laurent Grillet-Aubert. pp. 27-40